Icarus Falls is the second solo studio album by English singer and songwriterZayn, released on 14 December 2018 as a double album by RCA Records. The album was preceded by the release of six singles: "Let Me", "Entertainer", "Sour Diesel", "Too Much", featuring Timbaland, "Fingers" and "No Candle No Light", featuring Nicki Minaj. The album features guest appearances from Timbaland and Minaj. The Japanese version of the album features the previously released singles, "Still Got Time", featuring PartyNextDoor, and "Dusk Till Dawn", featuring Sia. The album received generally positive reception from critics. It peaked at 61 on the US Billboard 200 and 77 on the UK Albums Chart.
Background
Originally scheduled for release in September 2017, the album would include Timbaland as one of its producers. He said "What impresses me about Zayn is the vision he has for his music." Zayn stated that the album is "90 percent completed". The CEO of RCA Records Peter Edge said the album consist of a "more optimistic tone to it after coming through that more challenging time", referring to Zayn's time as a member of One Direction in his early career. Speaking about why the album has delayed since late 2017, Zayn said: On Instagram, Zayn revealed snippets of clips from the album, captioned with "Taster z2".
The album's release was confirmed on 30 November 2018.
Singles
"Let Me" was released on 12 April 2018 as the lead single from the album and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. "Entertainer" was released as the album's second single on 23 May and peaked at number 95 in the UK. "Sour Diesel" was released as the album's third single on 18 July. "Too Much" featuring Timbaland was released as the album's fourth single on 2 August and charted at number 79 in the UK. "Fingers" was released as the album's fifth single on 18 October. "No Candle No Light" featuring Nicki Minaj was released as the album's sixth single on 15 November.
Promotional singles
"Rainberry" was released as the album's first promotional single on 30 November 2018 after the album became available to pre-order on iTunes. On 6 December, the song "Good Years" was released as the second promotional single. "There You Are" was released on 12 December as the third promotional single from the album.
Other songs
"Still Got Time" featuring PartyNextDoor was released as a single on 24 March 2017 and peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. "Dusk Till Dawn" featuring Sia was released on 7 September 2017 and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. These songs were included only on the Japanese edition of the album. A music video for "Satisfaction", directed by Bouha Kazmi, was released on 9 January 2019. It follows the story of a romance that is plagued by the hardships of war. On 29 July 2018, Zayn, via his official Twitter account, released a three minute long cover of Beyoncé's "Me, Myself and I" as a taster for his fans. The cover would go on to have as many as 1.7 million views. On 14 April 2019, Malik released the music video for the song "Stand Still".
Critical reception
The album holds an aggregate score of 70 out of 100 on Metacritic based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a positive review, Helen Brown of The Independent stated that with "his maturing soulful falsetto, melismatic yearnings that check his heritage, and muzzy, midnight mutterings", listeners "following the shining thread of Malik's voice will be led through winding passages of hope, dope, seduction and evasion." Madison Spira of Who gave the album a positive review, stating that it is "different to anything we've seen from Zayn before, and that's what makes this album so beautiful" and there "are so many songs I'm convinced most people will relate to on a personal level." Dhruva Balram of NME called it a "27-track mosaic to be poured over time and again" where Zayn "really strikes upon his potential." Rea McNamara of Now gave it a "great" rating of 4 out of 5, praising how "Zayn grapples with toxic masculinity" and how it "reminds us that sometimes life's lows help us appreciate love's highs". Malvika Padin of Clash gave it a favourable review, calling it a "relentlessly creative" album that "begins the journey to realising his full potential". Neil Yeung of AllMusic stated that, with "his gorgeous voice and a batch of irresistibly seductive gems, he approaches greatness" but criticised the length, concluding that it "deserves some attention if there's time and patience to spare." Maura Johnston of Pitchfork gave it a favourable review, stating that, while long, it as a fine "high-concept pop album" that "hinges on the idea of excess and its trickery" while referring to Zayn as "a skillful interpreter of pop" and "one of teen idoldom's most enigmatic artists." Tara Joshi of The Observer gave it a favourable review, stating that, despite "the intimidating length", there is "plenty here to appreciate" such as vocals "pouring forth a gorgeous falsetto" and often channelling "melismatic Bollywood/qawwali-style singing", a "glossy production," and "a variety of styles", concluding that "Malik is defying expectations, remaining in ascent." Conversely, Consequence of Sounds Wren Graves praised some of the songs and Zayn's vocals but criticised the album as a long "half-baked concept album" that is "repetitive and dull," while Pryor Stroud of Slant Magazine deemed it "bloated" and "forgettable, albeit expertly produced".
