With a style more balanced and easy going than the aforementioned artists, Khalid fills American Dream with enough references to shared location pins and late night uber rides combined with well crafted shifts in mood and tone to sculpt a highly engaging piece of work.Īmerican Teen’s title track and album opener introduces first time listeners to Khalid’s signature, synth driven style.
Leaping into a well trodden territory and themes such as lost lovers, hazy summer parties and of course- what it means to be “young dumb and broke,” the 19 year old still impressively manages to make his mark on a crowded R’N’B landscape which has become increasingly melancholic, dominated by the likes of Sampha, The Weeknd, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Bryson Tiller to name just a few. With Warwick term whittling into dusk and long, lonesome summer days beckoning, young El Paso native Khalid’s debut LP: American Teen is just the perfect soundtrack for your annual warm weather identity crisis.
