Khalid attempts to make his words sincere, whispering intimacies like “swishers make my throat hurt.” Yet Khalid’s lyrics concerning teenage feuds with parents, reminding his companion about “All the things that I know / That your parents don’t / They don’t care like I do,” build to his most underwhelming chorus to date. Khalid’s injection of the acoustic guitar is reminiscent of Ed Sheeran’s style and lacks any depth or character. Unfortunately, “Saturday Nights” is just as cliche as the name suggests. However, the momentum of the album slows on the third track. The bridge is a highlight of the entire project, slowly pulling the listener closer and closer with Khalid’s monotone chant, culminating in an explosion of harmony and a fourth chorus. Khalid continues exploring this change in perspective in “Vertigo.” Swirling strings clear the way for a powerful vocal performance, filled with echoes and hums.ĭescribing the tumultuous path of the first year of his career, Khalid sings, “Are we alive, or are we dreaming / After the ride, are you living?” The track is as much a call to society as it is a moment of personal reflection. “9.13” opens the album with luscious vocal harmonies, which serve as the backdrop to a vocal recording of Khalid being awarded the key to El Paso.
“Suncity” is Khalid’s opportunity to expand his creative horizons - which he does - while still reminding fans of why they liked him in the first place.
Yet, after a year of riding the coattails of songs like “Location” and “American Teen” and noteworthy features on tracks like “Love Lies,” Khalid has reached a point in his career when he will need to display maturity beyond the narrow thematic lenses of his past work. Although there are moments of surprising emotional potency, Khalid ultimately lacks artistic maturity and makes only cursory efforts at experimentation.Īt 20 years old, Khalid Donnel Robinson, known simply as Khalid, has become an international pop-star, largely because of the success of his 2017 debut album, “American Teen.” In the wake of young pop artists like suburban heroine Lorde, Khalid solidified his position as a pre-eminent voice among the wave of millennial trap-pop, crafting tales of love, loss and youth in his beloved El Paso, Texas. “Suncity” features pop singer Khalid trying new styles like Latin pop and pitch-shifted vocal samples.
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