Zayn flirts with funk on new single ‘Sour Diesel’
With all due respect, the current ‘campaign’ in Zayn’s career (which should lead up to his sophomore album, but who knows really at this stage) seems a bit of a mess that lacks focus. After successful debut album Mind of Mine, he appeared on the Fifty Shades soundtrack with Taylor Swift and started a long string of singles (‘Still Got Time‘ – ‘Dusk Till Dawn‘ – ‘Let Me‘ – ‘Entertainer‘), to which we can add the track ‘Sour Diesel’ today.

The singles get dropped with not much of a build up or hype and there is not a whole lot of promotion going on. In terms of sound, there does not seem to be clear direction or some kind of cohesion. After a proper pop banger with Sia, some light pop and R&B crossovers and flirting with hiphop, he now tries out some funk. It is the most uptempo thing he has done in quite a while, which is welcome change of pace after two mellow (but still more than enjoyable) singles. The funky guitar is catchy enough, but the production as a whole falls flat. His vocals are mastered too quietly and the drums sound stale. It feels like Zayn and his team had a great idea, but could not pull through with a final version that does the composition justice. We know you could do better, Zayn. Please let us hear that on your upcoming album (one can still hope it actually will come).