Two years after his solo debut, former
One Direction
crooner
Zayn Malik
returned with his hulking, 27-track sophomore effort,
Icarus Falls
. With seductive vocals and a team of high-profile producers,
considers a wide variety of sounds -- from the ethereal ("Let Me," "Scripted") to the soulful ("Stand Still," "I Don't Mind") and the haunted ("Good Guy," "Insomnia") to the funky ("Sour Diesel," "No Candle No Light") -- touching upon fame, love, and youthful hedonism. Clocking in at nearly an hour-and-a-half,
is also ripe for creating personalized playlists with cherry-picked favorites that could yield any number of unique listening experiences. Whatever the artistic intent,
could be a bountiful gift or a daunting challenge, depending on the listener, but it also deserves some attention if there's time and patience to spare. ~ Neil Z. Yeung