Zayn and Nicki Disappoint on "No Candle No Light”

The road to Zayn's sophomore album has been confusing and frustrating. From singles with big-budget videos ("Dusk Till Dawn") to random tracks ("Sour Diesel") and half-hyped collaborations ("Too Much (feat. Timbaland)"), Zayn has been all over the place.

A lot of the music has been great, but this recent track is a clear miss. Nicki, who has been on a roll recently with her recent featured turns on Future's "Transformer" and Tyga's "Dip," sounds more invested than Zayn and it's not even her song. Lyrically, there is absolutely nothing memorable about the song. "No Candle No Light" sounds confused. The track simultaneously wants to be an R&B duet, an EDM pop song, and a dancehall-influenced banger, but it's simply not possible.

For one, the mixing of the track is incredibly odd; Zayn sounds abnormally quiet compared to the bombast of the production. The drop is horrendous and sounds cut-and-pasted from another song. Furthermore, the album art is one of the most horrific things I've seen all year. "No Candle No Light" sounds like a parody of a pop song, it is abysmal and Zayn is capable of much more.

SCORE: 45