Review: ZAYN - ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS

While Harry Styles has broken records and Niall Horan has sold out arenas worldwide, ZAYN’s career since leaving the biggest band in the world has followed a less predictable trajectory. You would be forgiven if you thought that an international, number one debut single was a precursor to solo stardom of the level that his former colleagues have gone on to reach. However, 9 years on things have unfolded quite differently and despite releasing three inventive albums of turbulent and seductive R&B, his art has been overshadowed by a burdensome celebrity image and opportunistic reporting on his personal life.

Now perhaps with nothing to lose, the talented Bradford-born vocalist has deserted hypnotic electronics for modest instruments and unbridled authenticity. A far cry from 2016’s Mind of Mine, ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS is a tasteful and frank tribute to classic sounds and song writing. Over the 15 tracks, ZAYN tries his hand at soul, blues, country and folk, and it very much works, retaining a natural freedom throughout. Singles Alienated and What I Am teased this new approach as he unveiled his feelings over a gentle, 70s style soft rock background, but the full album comes alive with emotional power and musical diversity in a setting that feels very live.

Opener Dreamin is a raw, bluesy belter that stirs up the raspy nuances of ZAYN’s voice which are later unleashed on Gates Of Hell, a James Bay-esque, acoustic burst. The influence of country music radiates from ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS through its sounds, simplicity and emotional vulnerability. There seems to be no better time to embrace country music than 2024, as Beyonce and Post Malone have found out, and False Starts taps into this in a particularly effective way with a pulsing beat and the anxious excitement of a story of new beginnings. In fact speaking of Post Malone, he would be very comfortable on the easy, light-hearted shuffle of Stardust which rings with a wistful melancholy.

Elsewhere, the album weaves between breezy folk-rock on Concrete Kisses and Birds On A Cloud and heavy laments of love and personal struggle on Shoot At Will and How It Feels. The transition into these styles may seem to be a deep enough venture into uncharted waters for some but Malik’s bag of tricks appears to know no end. My Woman passionately draws on psychedelic rock and soulful vocal riffs and beachy ballad Something In The Water combines sweet falsettos with an intoxicatingly laidback groove to stand out as a highlight on this broad exploration of genre.

That being said, from ZAYN’s perspective, it is the lyrics that are the album’s radical twist as he uses the work to unravel his feelings, thoughts and fears. Courageously tackling love, heartbreak, fatherhood, mistakes and being led astray, the record has by his own admission provided the singer with an outlet for unrestricted vulnerability. This adds another level to the experience of listening to the record as the account being told is truly that of the artist and its creation clearly served as a cathartic release. This is in addition to ZAYN’s vocal tones and textures which convey equally as much as his words but rather than divulging anguish and regret, they rejoice with purpose and creative spontaneity.

Whatever his intentions for the album, its value lies less in what ZAYN sings and more in how he sings it, or more so, what he sings it over. Its refreshing variation of styles is the album’s triumph and gives each song an intriguing novelty that can rarely be achieved by an established artist. Although ambitious reinvention is easier when you have inherited an army of unwavering fans, ZAYN’s is genuinely enjoyable and unexpectedly accomplished. (Mercury / Republic)