RATING: 6/10
Must Listens:
- Don’t Pretend (feat. SAFE)
- My Bad
- Better
The 21 one year old El Paso native has released his sophomore 17 track album ‘Free Spirit’. I’ve been listening to Khalid since his only song was Location on Soundcloud, and I was rooting for him and his success after the release of ‘American Teen’ however I think its this success that has hindered his latest work. While none of the tracks are bad, but they just fit so perfectly as background music. I tried to listen to the album straight through about 4 times and every time I forgot I was even listening to it. The only time the music captivated me was from the numerous singles he had already released, which happen to be the best part of the album. Perhaps his dominance of the Pop and R&B charts have made his own sound feel all too familiar, he fails to consistently switch his sound up or build upon the sound he’s created.
Every song feels like its really just trying to fit into a Spotify playlist, which is definitely does but I expect a lot more from an artist like Khalid. He has a lot more to offer and I think he needs to focus on showing that, rather than continuing to produce radio friendly music because inherently that’s what his music is regardless. That being said, the two features from SAFE and John Mayer fit nicely into the mood of the album and every song is perfect to have on in background.
Follow The 2Thousand for more.
Frank Tremain 
Interesting ideas about the background music think, I find that happens to me quite often when I’m listening to a new album, like I don’t realise when a song transitions or whatever. I guess every artist will have massive hits like Khalid with location (I’ll never forget listening to that on a bus full of friends in Fiji) and then they just have to substantiate their albums with other songs for their record label and big fans. I really liked that trend last year of 7 track albums, I felt like I could appreciate an album like DAYTONA for example when there were less songs, it stood out more.
LikeLiked by 1 person