I was really excited for “Mind of Mine.” Zayn Malik’s debut into solo artistry was something I’d been anticipating since he left One Direction a little over a year ago, thinking it’d be a major depart from what we’d heard from him while he was in the band. And, to a certain degree, it was. The lyrics are more adult in nature, the sound is darker and more shadowy, and his vocals alone ring out excellently on every track.

“Mind of Mine” was by no means a bad record. It was a satisfying listen and it deserves every good review it has gotten so far. However, it wasn’t as spectacular as I hoped it to be, and stood as average at best. It didn’t exceed my expectations of Malik, and was overall an underwhelming album.

My main problems with the album simply lie in the fact that while, yes, it was different than “FOUR” or “Made in the A.M.” by his former bandmates, there were still plenty of pieces of the boy band left in his music. The album felt like “One Direction (feat. The Weeknd)” for 18 tracks. The standout track to me was “Wrong,” featuring Kehlani, and that’s just because I was surprised to hear something different out of the black void of sound this album sucked me into. It still reminded me of exactly what he wanted to depart from when he left the band, and it felt like every track mashed together into one hour-long performance.

As I said, the lyrics are more adult, which can be good when maturity is brought into the mix. But some of the couplets and verses you can find on this record are just downright stomach-turning. Being that I have to keep it school-appropriate, I’ll keep them out of this review, but nearly overconfident announcements of sex, alcohol and drugs get a little overwhelming after five or six songs.

Now, this one might be a little more controversial, but I hate the album cover. It just isn’t aesthetically appealing, and it doesn’t feel well-done to me. The single covers for “Pillowtalk” would’ve worked much better. Plus, it’s Malik as a baby. That’s a really awkward photo to associate with an album that’s 99 percent about sex, is it not?

Despite my complaints, once again, it’s a good album. It’s enjoyable, and the R&B sound is a good fit for Malik. His vocal excellence on “Mind of Mine” matches his apparent muse, The Weeknd, and gave me some moments where I literally put my hand to my chest out of sheer impression. If anything, he was a fantastic vocalist on this album, and it goes to show how much of a loss One Direction suffered with his departure.

“Mind of Mine” didn’t mark a significant change for Zayn Malik. But it did show the beginnings of a very promising solo career, and one I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on in the future.  It deserves a solid B, for making an effort that worked well, but not well enough. While more music like what we heard on this record wouldn’t be a bad thing, I truly hope Malik will become more inventive and genre-bending in the future, and let his individual artistry shine through.