After Zayn Malik left One Direction to strike out on his own, he didn't rush out a record to take advantage of his fame; he took his time getting his sound together. His first solo record, Mind of Mine, was carefully crafted over a long period with the invaluable help of Frank Ocean collaborator Malay and goes for a much more adult, modern R&B feel than anything he'd done with One D. Most of the album revolves around sex, drugs, and sex while doing drugs -- pretty typical pursuits for a wealthy guy in his early twenties, especially one feeling his freedom for the first time. The sound of the album is rich and layered with synths, rubbery basslines, and occasional electric guitars, not too far from the sound of Miguel or the Weeknd. Like them, he digs deeply into slow, sensual ballads and basically buries himself there like it was a big, fluffy blanket perfect for a midnight rendezvous. Songs like "dRuNk" and "SHe" hit the sweet spot between romantic and debauched; others like "PILLOWTALK" tip toward the latter. While most of the album sticks close to lights-low, make-out territory, there are a few outliers, like the tender piano ballad "fOol fOr YoU," which comes closest to the wholesome boy band sound he was so desperate to break free of. It's a pretty good version of that sound, though. A couple tracks break free of the ballad haze and bump the energy level up a little: "BeFoUr" is a nice midtempo disco-influenced track that sounds like something Justin Timberlake might have done at one point; "lUcOzAdE" is a gently bouncing track with an on-point synth game.

1		MiNd Of MiNdd [Intro]
2		PILLOWTALK
3		iT's YoU
4		BeFoUr
5		sHe
6		dRuNk
7		INTERMISSION: fLoWer
8		rEaR vIeW
9		wRoNg
10		fOoL fOr YoU
11		BoRdErSz
12		tRuTh
13		lUcOzAdE
14		TiO

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