On January 15th, former One Direction member ,Zayn, released his third studio album, Nobody Is Listening. Unlike his ex-bandmates, Zayn has chosen a smooth RnB sound that continues to show off his velvety vocals.

The leading singles for the album include Vibez and Better with themes of sex and complicated love. These were definitely perfect choices to represent the album, as most songs are about exactly those two things. Vibez has a catchy beat, and though it’s not lyrically diverse, it’s a simple song you could throw on and enjoy. Better is smooth with guitar chords that add a rainy-day vibe to the song, highlighting the feel and sound of the album overall.

My personal picks from the album are Outside and Tightrope. Tightrope is a dreamy love song that discusses giving into the vulnerability you feel when falling in love. It features an alluring touch of lyrics sang in Romaji,  “Are you the full moon or the sun? Whatever you are, I swear to God, you are beyond compare.” Unlike Tightrope, Outside shows a more bumpy side to love. With mistakes made in the relationship, Zayn is singing his thoughts to his lover and asking to be let back into their life or left outside. This song also features guitar chords, something that laces many of the songs together.

Windowsill features Devlin, which was a big mistake. The song was fitting into the other songs well and I was going to save it to my main playlist, and then minute 2:14 hit. Devlin’s rap throws off the entire track, sounding like it’s from a completely different album. It’s not just the fact that there are no other rap sections, because I believe if it was done right a rap could have fit in. It’s that instead of finding one that fits well with the song, they included one that sticks out like a sore thumb.

I only mentioned 5 out of the 11 tracks, but I would encourage anyone to give the whole tracklist a listen. Admittedly, it is very simple and there wasn’t much diversity in sound (except for Devlin’s rap, but we know how that went, so maybe it’s a good thing), but I think that makes it easy to digest. Next time you’re driving around at night, it’s a rainy day, or you’re looking to relax, throwing on Nobody Is Listening will create the perfect atmosphere.