ALBUM REVIEW: Khalid finds sweet subtlety on sultry ‘Sincere’
It doesn’t take much time at all for R&B superstar Khalid to find the vibe on his third album, Sincere. The 16-track record is filled with moments of quiet intimacy and a casual, relaxed delivery. Khalid is carrying a momentum streak. He’s the youngest artist ever to pass 15 billion Spotify streams and has not showed signs of slowing day any time soon.
Sincere
Khalid
RCA, Aug. 2
7/10
Get the album on Amazon Music.
The opening track, earnest Leo song “Adore U,” is sparse on arrangement, just a quiet backbeat accompanies a reassuring hushed singing. The mood brightens on punchy atmospheric pop track “Everything We See,” with a sneaky infectiousness buried in the chorus that draws the ear. The singing is textured and lush throughout the album; sultry with a slight rasp when the emotion of a story calls for it.
A cool guitar line lifts the mid-tempo “Altitude,” which has more of a moody and ethereal feeling. The El Paso, Tex. singer, born Khalid Donnel Robinson, has a keen ability to do more with less. Some songs like “It’s All Good” hit with such a light and airy touch, but they flourish with he combination of dialed-in harmonies and slick melodies.
The haunting and dark “Broken” trades back and forth between dramatic piano-driven feel and a beat-heavy balladry. With most songs clocking at around two minutes, it’s actually one of the lengthier tracks on the record. Then on “Dose,” centered on addiction and relationships, Khalid plays it close to the vest.
“They say drugs are not your friend/ You can’t tell what’s real or what is fake,” he sings.
The understated vibe continues on soaring ballad “Please Don’t Fall In Love With Me,” which expertly fuses heartache and upbeat energy. There’s not many collaborations, though Arlo Parks makes an appearance on the quiet “Breathe,” the pair’s voices seamlessly melding for a solid one-two punch.
Much of the album sticks within a mid-tempo pace, including “Ground” and “Who’s There to Pick Me Up.” It’s territory through which Khalid travels particularly well. It’s a record for late Friday, with the lights dimmed and a glass of wine or cocktail in hand. “Tainted” and “Long Way Home” keep the anthems of love and heartache coming, the latter a subdued party anthem about finding the same wavelength with a romantic partner. These aren’t club songs, to be sure, but you can turn them up afterward as come-down mood music.
“The night’s not done ’til we say it is,” he declares.
The guitar-driven “Heatstroke” ups the ante quite a bit more, with a feeling that veers closer to art rock through a soul music lens rather than the rest of the record. Many of the album’s more memorable moments are saved for last. The title track, “Sincere,” is a divine piano ballad that hits all the right notes. The album closes out with the atmospheric mid-tempo cut “Owe To You,” and “Decline,” a woozy tearjerker.
Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.