Dangerous Love: ZAYN Falls For A Criminal On Rock-Infused “Sour Diesel”

Mike Nied | July 18, 2018 12:47 pm

UPDATE: This post has been updated to include the official streaming link for Zayn’s “Sour Diesel” video. Watch the action-packed thriller below!

Zayn's Dramatic 'Let Me' Video
Zayn Malik makes a sweeping romantic gesture in his dramatic 'Let Me' video.

Zayn Malik’s sophomore LP is slowly coming together, and he offers another taste with the release of his new single, “Sour Diesel.” The 25-year-old’s much-anticipated album is shaping up to be an eclectic affair. His Sia-assisted “Dusk Till Dawn” is a soaring ballad. And he followed it up with some sugary R&B on “Let Me” before channeling Drake on “Entertainer.” That isn’t even counting the handful of covers he has been releasing on YouTube over the last few weeks. Of those, his take on Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love” is my favorite. Today (July 18) he dropped his latest single, and it is unlike anything he has done before. On it, he lusts after a femme fatale over a rock-infused instrumental.

“Walks in the place, hands on her waist. Gun on her thigh, big shooter game. She did this before, murdered to gain. Promised her ma, she won’t kill again,” he croons on the opening lines. Low strings ground the production, but they are joined by drums and a variety of other instruments to move things forward. On the chorus, the “Pillowtalk” crooner falls hard for the irresistible woman. “Like sour diesel, I can’t stop this feeling,” he admits. “Feels like I dream her. Didn’t feel it seep in, she burn.” It is refreshing to hear the hitmaker take a sonic risk, and it certainly pays off. The end result is a pleasant listen from start to finish.

The accompanying visual has been released as an Apple Music exclusive and was directed by Sing J Lee. It is a suitably dramatic affair that relates back to the overarching narrative he created for the era. In it, the platinum blonde dons a mask and lives out all of his action movie star fantasies. There are plenty of intricately choreographed fight scenes as he takes on a crew of bad guys and (inexplicably) climbs over a horde of ladies. In the end, good manages to conquer evil after a last minute save from his dangerous woman. The pair walk away from the adventure seemingly unscathed, and it looks like they burn everything down to destroy the evidence. It is a lot to take in, but it manages to keep his story moving forward.

“Sour Diesel” shows off a different side of Zayn, and hopefully it will pay off. One thing the era has been missing thus far is a surefire hit in the US. Although “Dusk Till Dawn” went Top 5 and “Let Me” broke into the Top 20 in the UK, the crooner hasn’t cracked the Top 40 in the US since “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” With any luck, this will be the song to help him reclaim some of the energy he had going into Mind Of Mine in 2016. Of all his former bandmates, he is the only member of One Direction to have landed a number one in the US, and it would be nice to see him replicate the feat. Give his latest a listen below and check out the video here! We’ll update the post once the video is added to YouTube.

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