Khalid, Free Spirit | Album Review

While Khalid remains consistent on his highly-anticipated sophomore album, ‘Free Spirit,’ at times, he could stand to exhibit more free-spiritedness. 

After wowing with his debut album, American Teen in 2017, and tiding over fans with his EP, Suncity in 2018, Grammy-nominated R&B artist Khalid returns with his sophomore LP, Free Spirit.  Given the uniqueness of his instrument, it should come as no surprise that Free Spirit is a highly-anticipated album release.  Focusing on the album’s title, also a song on the album, normally, we associated a ‘free spirit’ spirit as being a total ‘wild child.’ Perhaps Khalid is indeed a free spirit, but his sophomore album honestly delivers a limited amount of free-spiritedness beyond how we come to view the 21-year old singer.  Free Spirit isn’t ever bad, but it also lacks dynamic standouts, particularly compared to American Teen.

“Intro”

Free Spirit kicks off with “Intro,” which far surpasses the duration of most album intros.  Rather than deliver a couple of seconds foreshadowing the project, Khalid opts for a full-length number.  It’s characteristic and idiomatic of the artist, featuring top-rate vocals, and a production giving off some splendid vibes. Give “Intro” credit for its gradual build-up to something grander, even if it falls short of making an incredibly memorable, ‘can’t miss,’ statement. “Bad Luck” is a lovely follow-up, finding the gifted singer barely breaking a sweat despite singing with great expressiveness.  His cool, calm, and collected approach is awesome, even if the song itself could use a bit more bite ultimately.

“Can’t count up the times you’ve blown my line / And that’s been on my mind a lot lately.” Khalid keeps ✓ “My Bad” short and sweet, clocking in under three-minutes in.  The record begins abruptly with him singing beautifully, against a lush, silky-smooth guitar-fueled backdrop.  While “My Bad” is firmly planted in the urban contemporary style, there’s plenty of pop appeal, much like the singer’s best records have shown as of yet.  Despite the fact that “My Bad” is quite the bright, ear-catching vibe, the singer is clearly experiencing relationship issues – arguments fueled by miscommunication and a lack of trust.  The aforementioned lyrics, excerpted from the first verse, highlight some of the ‘discord’ you might say.  There’s more ‘trouble in paradise’ on the second verse as well.  The centerpiece and biggest ‘vibe’ of “My Bad” comes by way of the chorus. 

“Better”

“Nothing feels better than this / Nothing feels better… / We don’t gotta hide it, this is what you like, I’ll admit / Nothing feels better than this.” ✓ “Better”, reprised from Suncity as the fourth track of Free Spirit, ranks among the crème de la crème. “Better” is a romantic, sexy record. In addition to dope vocals, the production work is solid, comprised of slick, hip-hop/urban drum programming, warm piano, and synths. The resulting sound is nothing too crazy or ornate, but incredibly effective.

Lyrically and thematically, “Better” centers around love. On the first verse, it’s about a supportive relationship of sorts, with potential benefits of course – “No one’s got to know, what we do, hit me up when you’re bored.” The chorus (aforementioned) is simple, but effective. On the second verse, it’s confirmed that Khalid’s ‘girlfriend’ isn’t confirming a relationship, despite the fact that ‘something’ is clearly going on between them. All in all, “Better” is a chill, pleasant, romantic, well-rounded urban contemporary record.

Yeah, started off right / I can see it in your eyes / I can tell that you’re wantin’ more…” ✓ “Talk” is sleekly produced to the nth degree, thanks to the talents of Disclosure.  The synths are warm, yet also have the right amount of bite.  The beat itself is perfectly suited for Khalid and a modern, urban contemporary record in general.  As always, Khalid delivers a strong vocal performance, showcasing his inescapable, distinct tone.  Besides his compelling chest voice, we also get some lovely falsetto as well.  Adding to the strength of “Talk” is a memorable chorus which serves as the crème de la crème in regard to overall songwriting.

“Right Back”

Following the likes of “My Bad,” “Better,” and “Talk” is a tall task. Luckily, the sleek ✓ “Right Back” keeps the momentum going, thanks to continual cool, vibe-filled vocals by Khalid, and terrific production courtesy of Stargate, Mike “Scribz” Riley, Charlie Handsome, and Denis Kosiak.  Here, the easy-going, light sound of the record plays in the singer’s favor.  A memorable chorus doesn’t hurt the cause either.  “Don’t Pretend” featuring SAFE maintains the chill, cool vibes, highlighting the voice in all its glory.  The only rub is, “Don’t Pretend” may be too casual in its approach where a bit more punch could’ve maintained the momentum of the quartet preceding it.

“Paradise” is more interesting, successfully blending urban contemporary, alternative R&B, and classic soul cues.  John Hill and DJ Dahi kill it on the production end, particularly using detuned synths.  Khalid remains strong. “Hundred” ranks among the more unique numbers from Free Spirit, embracing more of a pop/rock sensibility.  With such a versatile instrument on hand, this sound is another pro for the singer, even if this well-performed number runs a bit long.  While “Hundred” wasn’t among my favorites, I can definitely see why it would appeal to others.

“Outta My Head”

“Love is in the atmosphere; you can feel it in the air / Gettin’ hazy, and I just can’t get you outta my head.” ✓ “Outta My Head” features a totally unexpected guest, John Mayer.  That said, Mayer often excels on unexpected guest spots, and “Outta My Head” is no different.  This is a light-hearted, smooth, hella groovy soulful pop record.  Yes, those refined, ‘one of a kind’ vocals remain the focal point, but the guitar playing comes a very close second.  On “Free Spirit,” Khalid continues to showcase his versatility, embracing crossover appeal on this pop song.  Much like “Hundred,” I see the appeal to some, but personally prefer his more urban-leaning songs. 

There is more of an ‘urban’ vibe on “Twenty One,” while the ‘pop’ doesn’t entirely disappear either. The thing is, Khalid has already sort of ‘been there, done that’ (in regard to formula) with “8TEEN” on American Teen. The throwback, neo-soul of ✓ “Bluffin’” is a nice styling for the singer.  Again, he never pushes or over-sings, but the listener still is rewarded with deliciousness.

“Are we broken? Lost in emotion
Are you all in? Are you bluffing?
Is this the last fight? Lay here one last night
I know we’re both tired, that’s our excuse
Are you all in? Are you bluffing?”

“Self”

“I don’t need another hand, I need a couple suggestions / Always had a little trouble with self-reflections.” Another advance single, “Self,” arrives towards the end of Free Spirit.  Produced by Hit-Boy, “Self” possesses a distinct sound, and finds Khalid in introspective mode. He continues the aforementioned chorus, with a question that men often consider when it comes to vulnerability: “Now, does my raw emotion make me less of a man?” More reflective vibes follow with “Alive,” which tackles sadness and depression (“Grim Reaper, just give me one more night… I shouldn’t have to die to feel alive”).

“Heaven” is a great companion cut to “Alive,” again quite reflective and referencing ‘the end.’  This Father John Misty co-write appears at about the right place on Free Spirit.  The main issue is that by this point, the album runs a bit long and that dims the excellence and overall effect a wee bit.  “All the things that I know / That your parents don’t / They don’t care like I do / Nowhere like I do.” Closing joint ✓ “Saturday Nights” is another reprisal from Suncity.  Here, Khalid works with a moderate pace, while remaining chill, easy-going, and relaxed.  His voice shines above everything else, in all its distinct and nuanced glory. “Saturday Nights” itself benefits from its rhythmic, cool melodic lines on the verse, not to mention its memorable chorus.  In his hands, “Saturday Nights” never felt or sounded better.

Final Thoughts

 Ultimately, Free Spirit, much like American Teen, has a number of songs worth spinning over and over.  Unlike American Teen, the highlights from Free Spirit fail to be quite as memorable.  Khalid shines vocally throughout his sophomore album, but as sound as the material often is, there are times Free Spirit just sounds boring.  That’s an issue, again, given the title and apparently the vibe Khalid had in mind.  Still, this is a respectable album, even if it would have been nice to see him push himself more.

Gems: “My Bad,” “Better,” “Talk,” “Right Back,” “Outta My Head,” “Bluffin’” & “Saturday Nights”  

Khalid • Free Spirit • RCA • Release: 4.5.19

Photo Credit: RCA