We review this week's biggest music releases | 24/03/2017

ZAYN (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR) - Still Got Time

When we found out that ZAYN was going to be the first of the One Direction boys to take the solo route, we were sure he'd blow up Robbie Williams style. That hasn't quite happened, aside from 'Pillowtalk'. Infact, his album last year sold less in 9 months than The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh managed to sell in 2 months. However, after a solid collaboration with Taylor Swift recently, it's over to ZAYN to try and keep the hype behind his capitalised name alive. How's he planning on doing that? Well, apparently, by turning himself into a British Drake.

The track certainly wouldn't sound amiss on Drake's 'Views' of last year and even features PARTYNEXTDOOR who is a favourite of the Canadian's. Credit to Zayn though, as much as the track doesn't sound particularly individual, it's not a huge departure from the mellow RnB sound that Zayn kick started with his first album. His vocals sound strong and less reliant on that over-used falsetto that he often throws out and while we're not wowed, it's a solid lead single from the eagerly awaited second album, even if we think he can do better than playing "second rate Drake".

David Guetta (feat. Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne) - Light My Body Up

If you're thinking "bloody hell, Nicki Minaj is everywhere again these days", you'd be right in thinking so. Just two weeks after releasing three tracks of her own and a month after dropping Swalla with Jason Derulo, you can now find her teaming up dance DJ David Guetta for a third time in her career. 'Turn Me On' is one of David Guetta's biggest hits and 'Hey Mama' followed suit, proving that sometimes lightning can strike twice. Does it strike so successfully a third time? We're gonna say yes.

With credit to David Guetta, with each of his collaborations with Nicki Minaj, he's made sure that he's not repeating the same winning formula. This isn't a Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez type situation. Production-wise, this feels very similar to Minaj's very own "Beez In The Trap" and by adding Lil Wayne's familiar vocals to the mix only helps to make this collaboration to feel the most naturally Minaj of all of her recent collaborations. All three artists involved are able to show a great side of themselves in this track and we're hoping to hear this one in clubs for the next few months.

Iggy Azalea - Mo Bounce

Fewer rappers have got more stick so early in their career as Iggy Azalea has. With just one album to her name, the Australian with the thick American rapping accent has been criticised in the past for "appropriating black culture", not writing her own lyrics and generally just being pretty crap. So, let's make it clear, if you already don't like Iggy Azalea then you will absolutely hate "Mo Bounce" which makes absolutely no effort to draw in any new fans.

Devoid of any creativity, Iggy has resorted to singing songs about twerking with her ass again. Sure, Nicki did it with her comeback 'Anaconda' but there was a definite charm from the sample to her playful lyricism. Comparatively, 'Mo Bounce' repeats the word 'bounce' several times and tries to pass it off as a chorus in what must be her trashiest song to date. All that being said, the song is pretty addictive and by being so lazy as to just repeat one word 10/15 times over in a row, it definitely gets stuck in your head. But she's winning no new fans with this one, even if you'll probably find us twerking to it behind closed doors as our new guilty pleasure - don't tell anyone.

Gorillaz - Ascension (feat. Vince Staples)

You'd be forgiven for thinking Gorillaz hadn't been a thing since Dare and Dirty Harry in 2005 if you're not a particularly big fan of the British virtual band. They haven't had a top 10 since then but they've kept up a strong fanbase who will be very excited by them dropping FOUR tracks yesterday. 'Ascension', which features American rapper Vince Staples, in particular has picked up attention for its strong experimental, electronic sound which marks a bold comeback for the band.

There's no doubting that in the past 10 years or so, Gorillaz have traded in a more mainstream dance for something which pulls electronica into an alternative hip-hop lane. They've mastered it pretty impressively with Vince Staples shining with his rapid flow and impressive lyricism but it's not really something we're itching to play on replay. If you're a big fan of Gorillaz, however, we can't see this disappointing as they're clearly not playing this comeback by halves if this and the other new tracks are anything to go by.