Here's Zayn Malik and he's all grown up

Zany Zayn Malik has thrown off his boyband shackles and he's at pains to let you know. His debut single, Pillow Talk, is a slowbanger about slow banging. "We'll be in bed all day," he sings, "fucking and fighting... It's a paradise and it's a war zone."

The video is suitably explicit - full of thrusting breasts and soft-focus snogging with his current squeeze Gigi Hadid. You can't help but view it through the prism of One Direction's carefree video shenanigans. This represents everything Zayn was told he couldn't do for the last six years, and he's not holding back.

Crucially, it never comes across as petulance. This is the sound of steam escaping from his internal pressure cooker. And Zayn, a man who seems to take himself very seriously, has clearly poured his heart and soul into the song.

And what's it like? Pretty damned good, actually. Textured, sophisticated and seductive, it wouldn't sound out of place on a sex-era Janet album. A solid 8/10.


PS: Zayn's interview with Zane Lowe - live from Bradford football stadium - is a good listen. The bit where he talks about his recently-departed grandmother will bring a tear to your eye. You can hear it on the Apple Music site.

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