The Sun Reappears with Khalid’s New EP

Khalid, after being launched into popularity with his single “Location” in 2016, is back with a seven-track EP titled “Suncity.”

The+Sun+Reappears+with+Khalid%E2%80%99s+New+EP

This singer-songwriter, at the young age of 20, is a rising star in the American music industry and does not fail to show off his vocal and writing talent in this mini-album. With a total of seven songs—with some unconventional ones a typical listener would think ofthis EP is a good addition to Khalid’s discography.

The first track, titled “9.13” after the date he was presented with the key to the city of El

Paso, graces the beginning of the EP. It sets the album apart from the typical pop album of today. “9.13” establishes the connections that Khalid himself still maintains with his home and creates a new definition of “Texan” entirely.

“Vertigo,” one of the songs that particularly stands out on the album, follows “9.13.” The orchestral introduction pulls the listener in and fits well with the title of the song. It is especially apparent here that Khalid highlights his raw voice, which fits the tone of the piece very nicely. It is an overall relaxing listen and seems well put-together, flowing smoothly between different parts of the song.

The third track, “Saturday Nights,” is another solid piece. The pre-chorus and chorus are arguably the best parts of the song and the backing vocals, especially towards the end, add an extra element that makes this an even better listen. However, where there is less instrumental, it tends to be better, though it does not really take away from the experience overall.

“Salem’s Interlude,” the fourth song, fits the definition of an interlude well, while also having quite a bit of its own substance. Although every song on the EP does a decent job of drawing in the listener and making them want to continue listening, this song does an especially good job of that because of the way that it is written and mixed. The voice recording provides additional meaning and the way the instrumental cuts out at the end punctuates meaning, also giving the track a sense of melancholy of sorts.

Aptly titled “Motion,” the fifth track of the album is another example of excellent production. The way the vocal track flows and is mixed is reminiscent of the ocean, which fits with the title. The instrumental fits nicely with the vocal line and lyrics and, although the ending is somewhat strange, it is a pleasant sort of strange.

The featured track, “Better,” is very relaxing to listen to and seems well put-together. There are some instances of abnormal autotune and filters that surprisingly work in the song’s favor. The chorus stands out among the rest of the song and, once again, Khalid’s vocals are very good.

The seventh and final track, “Suncity” featuring Empress Of, is definitely one of the highlights of the EP. From the very beginning, the song is promising and the voices of Khalid and Empress Of blend together outstandingly well. The production on this song is, as per usual, excellent and the mixture of Spanish and English lyrics give it a special touch that not many others can pull off. The ending voicemail seems especially meaningful. No part of the song is at all jarring and it comes together very nicely, placing itself as one of the most pleasantly memorable tracks of the entire EP.

Without a doubt, it can be said that Khalid has a fantastic voice, providing a smooth tone that makes for easy listening. He does sometimes suffer from the problem of not annunciating quite well enough, though that does come down to personal preference as to whether the listener will be affected or not. Every song on this EP seems to be well produced and as though they are constructed with genuine care as for how the final product turned out. Real feelings clearly went into the writing, recording and production of this album and, overall, it is a breath of fresh air from current American music. The voicemails, recordings and different audio clips scattered throughout some of the tracks add an even more personal touch. One especially positive feature is that each song does a wonderful job of drawing the listener in so that they have the desire to actually continue listening all the way through. With Khalid’s current track record, it is safe to assume that listeners can anticipate even more high quality music in the future.