Sincere by Khalid | Album Review

Khalid's first album in over 5 years

It’s been over 5 years since the release of Khalid’s last drop, so long that it almost feels like an entirely different lifetime ago. As such, the loose, care-free feeling of Free Spirit and the crooning of American Teen are lodged firmly in the rearview. Sincere delivers a more sentimental approach while clinging on to a loose, almost lazy delivery to mixed results.

Opening with the lead single, “Adore U,” it is both frustratingly simple and catchy. The smoke-induced haze that seems to cloud this track, weighs down the delivery, and as such, its impact. The transition into another particularly inconsequential track — “Everything We See” — does not help the case. The production is disgustingly simple, innately uninteresting for the most part, and experiments with either heavily altered or raw vocals — and I can’t figure out which end of the spectrum I fear more. The amount of clutter and noise feels abundant over what is normally a decisive comfortability in his genre from Khalid.

“Altitude,” delivers the first semblance of sonic curiosity, riding along a heavy bass-lines and electronic thrum as Khalid seems to finally settle into the pocket before delivering a first down pass, the melodies the strongest of the opening tracks. It’s bouncy and complemented by solid enough songwriting that it finally feels like the artist is letting loose. This tracks transitions well into “All Good,” which is built upon boring, “chill trap type” Youtube beats and perfect melodies.

This genre of music is surprisingly effective through the middle of the album, most aptly captured in “Please Don’t Fall In Love With Me,” which features a sample from Alicia Keys’, “Un-thinkable.” This is far and away one of the better songs on the album, hence its significance as the lead single. That chorus is top five in his discography and set the bar a tad too high for the rest of the 52-minute listen.

Perhaps the most surprising of the bunch is the rapping we see on Arlo Parks backed, “Breathe,” which sees Khalid unload bars for the first time I’ve ever heard. However surprising, this track is still pretty corny, very on the nose as it drones on about mental health and more in the most relatable way possible. Arlo Parks brought a relaxing mix of softness and elegance that softened the blow of a Logic, “1-800-273-8255,” disciple.

The erratic nature of this album of this album can be frustrating. Effort is inconsistence. The sound Khalid is so known and performs well within seems to be missing, which is a large detractor in itself. Additionally, the production lackluster. “Who’s There To Pick Me Up,” sounds like a Drake song for some reason that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it isn’t very good. That seems to be the theme of the entire last third of the album. Gaudy, meandering, nothing stands out the way that tracks like, “PDFILWM,” and “Altitude,” did in the first half.

“Heatstroke” is one of the few songs that is sonically acceptable, refusing to fall within the homogeny, largely because if its indie pop production that is attuned more to a beabadoobee or Mitski, but I can’t say I hated it. It was a good attempt.

One of my fears with this album were the quality differences of the two lead singles, and I think, ultimately, that was a clear indicator of what was to come. For every good moment, there are equal, if not more, disqualifiers. The more intimate subject matter, putting himself out in the open, feels defied by the limitations the production put on Khalid’s voice.

Even the album’s namesake, “Sincere,” feels restrained. The one track where he should have belted his lungs out, was kept under the wraps of steady control, a control that hadn’t otherwise been earned by any other eager attempts. Sincerity is the devout enemy of perfection, and the two are at an odds throughout the rollercoaster ride that is Khalid’s third album.

Sincere definitely feels like an album you would smoke to, appropriate considering the subject matter of songs like, “Ground,” and “Dose,” which is music I’ve never been a huge fan of anyway. It doesn’t feel entirely appropriate to say that I was expecting more, especially after this long of a wait, but in a way, I was. I wanted it to be excruciating, and simultaneously, fun and evocative of the summer — all of the things I’ve missed in his absence — and it just wasn’t.

Regardless, I always said that this album would determine the trajectory of Khalid’s career, whether that continue on an upward trajectory or just slide into oblivion and irrelevance. We’ll see what the public opinion is, but it feels like the Khalid of old stardom is slipping away behind all of his woes and the weight of the industry, which is easy to do in all fairness.

Rating: 5.0/10
Favorite Tracks: Please Don’t Fall In Love With Me, Broken, Altitude