Nat Mah

4.5. On first listen I really missed old Zayn, but this album has since grown on me as songs definitely got stuck in my head! His vocals and production were top tier. The half star deduction is due to song sequence/choice and verse to chorus transitions that werent always smooth. I think some of this was due to the attempt to still throw in some commercial songs. For instance, Something in the Water was the token song he left for old Zquad faithfuls like me aaaand I loved it, more than many of the songs on there, but it didn't quite fit the album concept. I really like False Starts too but something was reversed (??) about the sentiment in it? It mostly fit. On further listening I was able to appreciate a lot more of the album. I preferred the edgier, grittier, sadder songs so I'm going to disagree with everyone on Stardust. It's a GREAT song but it's too cute. If you're writing a breakup album and truly committing to that angst then no Stardust is needed. Otherwise the majority of the tracks were a wonderfully gory reality of the crapshow that is a breakup- with a kid in the mix. How it Feels is a masterpiece.