Mind of Mine

ZAYN - Mind of Mine
Critic Score
Based on 24 reviews
2016 Ratings: #871 / 1004
User Score
Based on 559 ratings
2016 Rank: #676
Liked by 36 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
Entertainment Weekly

He doesn’t sound particularly interested in pushing pop’s boundaries or dissecting the vagaries of his own fame. Instead, he tends to keep his lyrical focus exactly where you’d expect any 23-year-old’s to be.

80
musicOMH

Soulful, sexy and captivating, Mind Of Mine hints at the flexibility, focus and character required of the brightest solo stars.

80
PopMatters

It’s expected and necessary for Zayn to establish himself apart from the roiling machinery of 1D, and it has allowed him to push forward both with his own incredible voice and with his songwriting, his subject matter.

80
NME

Zayn has clearly achieved his aim of making an album of sexy, credible pop-R&B. ‘Mind Of Mine’ is sumptuously produced and perfectly sung, with just enough intrigue.

80
The Independent
His vocals are by far the album’s most potent aspect, bringing grace and wonder even to the more routine material, and hoisting the better songs to classic status.
80
The Guardian

The lasting impression of Mind of Mine ... is of someone finally making the music they’ve wanted to make for a long time.

71
GIGsoup
Zayn’s debut solo effort is a solid entry, while it may lack some variety it still provides a great pop album with strong R&B influences.
70
AllMusic

His vocal skills help pave over the (rare) moments when the lyrics seem a bit juvenile or the sound feels a little too familiar, and help make Mind of Mine an impressive debut.

67
Pretty Much Amazing

I came out of Mind Of Mine with pretty solid ideas of what these songs sounded like but few recollections of lyrics or choruses. Mind Of Mine is great when it’s on, but it doesn’t linger much.

60
Drowned in Sound

Even on an album of songs I strongly suspect are meant to be soul-baring confessionals, Zayn is unknowable.

60
The Irish Times
On his first solo album the former 1D singer proves a great voice can only get you so far.
60
The Sydney Morning Herald
The lesser cuts dilute the best of Malik's launch; nonetheless it's a good start.
60
Gigwise
There's some genuinely atmospheric moments. It's just presented with such po-faced intensity that it's difficult to take much joy from it.
60
The Observer

Mind of Mine may suffer from this lack of variety, but Malik pulls off his transformation into a brooding, tattooed loverman convincingly.

60
Clash

As debut offerings often go, there’s a fervent desire on ‘Mind of Mine’ to stretch so far and wide that the cohesiveness of the record is lumbered as a result.

60
Rolling Stone

His solo re-introduction is a glimpse into his dirtiest thoughts, which, like the thoughts of most 23-year-old boys, are a bit half-baked and corny.

60
Time Out London

'Mind of Mine' may not quite live up to the colossal hype, but there's no denying Zayn has created the vibe he wanted here. This is definitely an album you could listen to sat a party with your girl.

60
Exclaim!

By the end of all 14 songs, it doesn't quite feel like the sultry, steamy soundtrack for highly hormonal post-teen fans it was supposed to be; there's just a bit too much clumsy foreplay here weighing down the moments of ecstasy.

60
SPIN

Sonically, you won’t find many pop albums in 2016 more immaculately conceived than this ... What ZAYN can’t do, though, is give us much reason to care about that Mind of His.

59
Pitchfork
Lacking compelling hooks, a unifying mood, or a clear narrative, his debut is oddly inflexible and over-calculated.
50
Slant Magazine

As many a former teen heartthrob can attest, slick beats and merely competent balladeering do not a revelatory debut make.

50
Consequence of Sound

There’s just not enough focus, and promise can only take one so far without differentiation from the artists you’re emulating.

30
God Is in the TV

It’s ZAYN who’s the real villain here: he might draw on the right influences to make an on-trend album, but he has no sense of delivery.  He can hit the notes, but lacks any sense of dynamic.

Docky
39

oN tHiS aLbUm zAyN dElIvErS a bUnCh oF sHitTy bLaNd pOp tRaCkS wHiLe bEiNg qUiRkY aF wItH hOw hE nAmEs hIs tRaCkS

Hieracosphinx
40

"we’re going to pretend we didn’t hear that and let's move on" -AjayII

aristocat
77

MiNd Of MiNdd (Intro) - 100
PILLOWTALK - 100
iT’s YoU - 100
BeFoUr - 100
sHe - 90
dRuNk - 80
INTERMISSION: fLoWer - 60
rEaR vIeW - 66
wRoNg (feat. Kehlani) - 90
fOoL fOr YoU - 80
BoRdErZ - 70
tRuTh - 60
lUcOzAdE - 70
TiO - 60
BLUE - 64
BRIGHT - 50
LIKE I WOULD - 100
SHE DON'T LOVE ME - 60

FilipeCarmona
80

I think Zayn is a special and gifted guy. He has one great voice that was made like honey to R&B although this one is more into contemporary. Goes to say that, to me, Zayn is definitely a favorite.

And, when you listen to this album next to what was always made in One Direction you get why Zayn was always not so in the mood into going further.

This solo debut is a pretty exquisite collective of songs that blends very well with a moody and melodic feel his voice has, while being also raw ... read more

karendroit
90

primero que la portada es una ternura y me encanta el detalle de que tenga sus tatuajes, segundo la forma en como eStA eScRiTo el TiTuLo, tercero las canciones estan buenas y con letra sexy

favoritas: TiO, BoRdErSt, ReAr ViEw, SHE DONT LOVE ME

popvision
70

ZAYN
01. MIND OF MIND
02. PILLOWTALK - 100 ⭐
03. IT'S YOU - 60 🟡
04. BEFOUR - 80 🟢
05. SHE - 90 🟢
06. DRUNK - 80 🟢
07. INTERMISSION: FLOWER
08. REAR VIEW - 70 🟢
09. WRONG - 70 🟢
10. FOOL FOR YOU - 70 🟢
11. BORDERZ - 70 🟢
12. TRUTH - 50 🟡
13. LUCOZADE - 60 🟡
14. TIO - 70 🟢

SCORE: 72.5 🟢

Aesthetics: 🟡
Coehsion: 🟡
Lyrics: 🟡
Production: 🟡
Vocals: 🟢

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Track List

1MiNd Of MiNdd (Intro)
0:57
69
2PILLOWTALK
3:22
88
3iT’s YoU
3:46
79
4BeFoUr
3:28
81
5sHe
3:09
82
6dRuNk
3:25
77
7INTERMISSION: fLoWer
1:44
66
8rEaR vIeW
3:21
71
9wRoNg
3:32
feat. Kehlani
71
10fOoL fOr YoU
3:22
73
11BoRdErZ
3:59
73
12tRuTh
4:05
64
13lUcOzAdE
4:12
73
14TiO
2:58
75
Total Length: 45 minutes

Year End Lists

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Added on: February 2, 2016