EP Review: “Suncity” by Khalid

Yeah, you’re getting a bonus post for today! I’d say “don’t use to it” but I don’t think I can say that anymore. What I want to do for December is a little up in the air too, because I checked to see what all comes out for this month and there’s a lot, so my normal weekly blogging schedule might be a little different. We’ll just have to see what happens!

I am going to be talking about the R&B artist Khalid and his new extended play that came out on the 19th of October. Earlier in the year, I discovered Khalid’s amazing deep voice with his song “Young, Dumb & Broke” and then afterwards, I found “Love Lies” with former singer of Fifth Harmony, Normani and recently, he joined Benny Blanco’s track “Eastside” with Halsey. I was going to review his debut album, American Teen but I talked myself out of somehow so I am very happy to see this collection of songs, I can finally share my thoughts with you!

The first is called, “9:13” and the introduction sounds very echo-y, almost ethereal sound going on. All you hear is this other person in the background, like you would hear at a press conference basically giving Khalid the keys of El Paso, Texas. I thought this was a very interesting way to start the EP. Next is actually a real song, “Vertigo” and we keep this dreamy sound, it makes you really calm too. You only really hear it in certain places, as the gurgling sound pretty much commands your full attention. I like the fact that it’s an love song, because the beat is so seductive with the orchestra going on in the background. I have to say, four minutes and thirty seconds were definitely not enough for me! I wanted it to go on forever, that’s how I loved it!

“Saturday Nights” is on now and I kind of wished I had waited another day to write this post, but I was impressed with this because I liked the soft pop beat it has, it works so well with Khalid’s soulful voice. Is it weird to say that he could be a great country singer too? I mean, I swear I sense a southern drawl in his voice, especially in the choruses of this song! I really enjoyed the easy-going, autumnal feeling you get with this track. We move to “Salem’s Interlude” which is really a small snippet of anything, some people say a short poem or in this case, you hear a young woman speaking about what’s she afraid of in her life on top of this mellow beat, that doesn’t try to overpower her message to the listeners.

Afterwards, we have”Motion” I really liked this too, it’s so gentle and has a new groove. I was a bit worried when it first played whether there was another singer featured on the track with him, because the beginning does not sound like him at all, the tone is so low, lower then how he usually sings in the first place. I have to give him kudos for that! The sixth track is the first single”Better” that came out in mid-September, it was really the reason why I was excited and hoping to see new music by him soon. I just didn’t know it would come out this fast! The beat is really fun and quite substantial compared to the others, but I really liked the dance-y quality it brings. A good hip hop song! Finally, we end this with the title track “Suncity” that features  Californian based artist Empress Of. This has a nice reggaeton sound, that I really enjoyed a lot. All I really wanted to do was dance along to it. Khalid’s voice really works well with Empress Of as hers is higher and it brings a nice sweet vibe to the song.

Khalid has such a unique voice to him, with being able to let out those long notes in such a deep tone is difficult. I mean, I can barely do it for so long until my throat hurts. I always have admiration for artists who can get their voices that low, but I felt like it sort of limits him as far as choosing different beats. One thing that I noticed was the fact the first three songs had similarities and especially with both “Motion” and “Better” too, they kind of blend right into each other. Overall, I thought it was good, but I really only loved two tracks out of the whole thing!

Have you listened to Khalid’s new EP “Suncity” yet? If you have, what were your thoughts about it? Do you have a favorite track?

Song Review: “Disconnected” by No Traffik

Two weeks ago, I received an email by a band asking to either premiere or review their new single on my blog. As much as I would have loved to actually be part of the launching of this song, I couldn’t do it. So, I am going with a song review instead.

The band is No Traffik, and for once I actually get a group based in the United States! I really enjoy discussing international music on here, but it does feel nice to give back to the American musicians too. No Traffik was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Clark in 2012. The band has had many lineup changes over the years, but the current members are: Ryan Mcleod, the lead guitarist, Nick Avila plays bass, and finally Wesley Hoskins on the drums!

Now the track is called “Disconnected” and I was very hesitant to listen this at first, because I didn’t want to be too critical but Wes specifically asked me for a honest opinion so here we go!

When it first starts out, I feel like it’s a bit hectic, because everybody seems to be playing in different directions. It’s not until the chorus begins that everything calms and actually sounds pretty good. What I found the most interesting about it, is the fact that in the six minutes it goes on, you get to hear three different genres: alternative rock in the beginning, towards the middle has this weird punk vibe going on and then all of a sudden you hear Chris’s voice turn harsh and low, and the tempo goes faster and has really heavy like a regular metal track would sound.

I actually grew to like it once we got passed the introduction. I just didn’t like that part at all, but something that was mentioned in their press packet, was they tend to sound like Soundgarden which I could see especially for this section alone. As they are known to be a little experimental with their music. I actually thought this song had more of a Godsmack vibe mixed in with maybe Nothing More too, but with Tyler Connelly’s voice, who’s the singer of Theory Of A Deadman. One thing that I did enjoy about it was the fact that nothing about it was like a traditional rock song, as it continued on, the hooks would change and then the whole atmosphere too. It was really interesting!

If you’d like to check out the band for yourself, here’s how you can follow them!

Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify