After the release of his 2017 smash-hit album, “American Teen,” 20-year-old Khalid grew a serious fanbase among an audience who fell in love with his unique musical creations. Khalid is now back with his new EP “Suncity,” released on Oct. 19.
The seven-track EP features songs that vary vastly from one another, with Khalid seemingly not willing to tie himself down and commit to a specific style of music. The album features a bit of R&B mixed with pop ballads and pop songs that have potential to be radio hits.
The album begins with “9.13,” which features echo-like vocals underneath a brief audio recording. The recording features the mayor handing over the key to El Paso, Texas, Khalid’s home city, to the singer-songwriter. It’s a nod to his hometown, which he affectionately refers to as, “the city of the 915” in his first album.
At only 56 seconds long, the track doesn’t have much musical value to it. It seems to act only as a shoutout to Khalid’s beginnings, a preface to the EP that seems more like a love letter to his roots. It sets the listener up to understand that the EP functions as an acknowledgment of the personal undertones of “Suncity.”
The first part of the album isn’t an attempt to give listeners another “Location.” The song “Saturday Nights,” a guitar heavy pop ballad, gives meaning to the harsh realities of life. Khalid sings, “I guess there’s certain dreams that you gotta keep/’Cause they’ll only take what you let ‘em see.”
In sharp contrast from the youthful “American Teen,” here, Khalid exposes life beyond high school. Though the song’s message is a bit somber, it’s tranquil, it’s honest and it’s relatable to many who are facing the true challenges of life on their own for the first time.
In “Vertigo,” the second song on the EP, Khalid comes in with an almost ethereal sound, unusual for his powerhouse vocals. It creates a certain softness to the beginning of the tune, which builds as it nears the first chorus. Khalid showcases his capability as an artist, glossing over gorgeous high notes and finding his strength in the words he sings. “Vertigo” is a strong nod toward the R&B world Khalid is exploring with “Suncity.” It proves Khalid’s abilities as a multi-faceted artist.
Khalid’s “Better” has a Zayn-esque quality about it, unsurprisingly. Like the former One Direction singer, Khalid is trying to break away from being an artist known only for pop. With deep bass beats and edgy lyrics and even some purposeful autotune that is uncharacteristic of Khalid’s earlier music, the tune has the potential to be well-received as a pop-influenced R&B hit.
The song that the EP is named for, “Suncity,” will likely become a radio hit with ease. It takes advantage of the common trend of using bouncy beats and highlights Empress Of, who sings in Spanish alongside Khalid. Their voices intertwine nicely, and the song has distinct radio quality about it. The songs exist to remind the music world that Khalid has found his footing, but in comparison to his other songs, “Suncity” is simplistic and underdone.
Though it’s good to see Khalid releasing individual music again, his newest EP isn’t the follow-up album that fans are looking for. The project seems like a creative explosion; Khalid tried out various styles on the EP and showed that he has the distinct ability to switch between genres, but, in the process, lost the cohesion of the project.
Though it does have stellar moments and several artful tunes, “Suncity” overall doesn’t represent Khalid’s unique abilities and talents as well as it had the potential to. In an attempt to honor his hometown, Khalid got a bit lost in its streets with his new EP.
By Meghan Hall, Staff Writer
hallml18@bonaventure.edu
