Influenced by the double album structure, Zayn incorporated several sonic elements in addition to R&B, such as pop, funk rock, trap and electropop.

He recruited Alan Sampson, MakeYouKnowLove and Malay, who had already worked with Zayn on his previous album, adding Brian Lee, Dan Grech, Timbaland and the duo Saltwives to the production team.

Icarus Falls received generally positive reception from critics, and peaked at 61 on the US Billboard 200 and 77 on the UK Albums Chart.

He recalls the story of Icarus, who was told by his father to not fly too high but not too low with his pair of wings, rather to follow his path of flight.

[16] "Dusk Till Dawn" featuring Sia was released on 7 September 2017 and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.

[27] On 29 July 2018, Zayn, via his official Twitter account, released a three minute long cover of Beyoncé's "Me, Myself and I" as a taster for his fans.

[29] In a positive review, Helen Brown of The Independent stated that with "his maturing soulful falsetto, melismatic yearnings that check his heritage, and muzzy, midnight mutterings", listeners "following the shining thread of Malik's voice will be led through winding passages of hope, dope, seduction and evasion.

"[35] Rea McNamara of Now gave it a "great" rating of 4 out of 5, praising how "Zayn grapples with toxic masculinity" and how it "reminds us that sometimes life's lows help us appreciate love's highs".

[36] Malvika Padin of Clash gave it a favourable review, calling it a "relentlessly creative" album that "begins the journey to realising his full potential".

[32] Neil Yeung of AllMusic stated that, with "his gorgeous voice and a batch of irresistibly seductive gems, he approaches greatness" but criticised the length, concluding that it "deserves some attention if there's time and patience to spare.

"[9] Tara Joshi of The Observer gave it a favourable review, stating that, despite "the intimidating length", there is "plenty here to appreciate" such as vocals "pouring forth a gorgeous falsetto" and often channelling "melismatic Bollywood/qawwali-style singing", a "glossy production," and "a variety of styles", concluding that "Malik is defying expectations, remaining in ascent.