Khalid – Location
Wish you were here…
[Video][Website]
[6.00]
Ryo Miyauchi: “Send me your location” is such a millennial lyric. Fortunately, Khalid knew not to lean any closer because “drop me a pin” would’ve given this song a way shorter shelf life. Maybe a decade from now, it will fit nicely with whatever gadget turns smartphones into a relic. Dress it up accordingly and “Location” kinda goes with any past eras of technology too.
[7]
Claire Biddles: “Location” is so evocative of the best kind of impromptu dates. I love all the little surprising one-off moments, especially in the percussion, like a turn down an unfamiliar street in the sunshine, or falling into a bar at 2 am when you were only supposed to go to lunch. Khalid hides his enthusiasm behind put-on coyness, worried that it’s too early to be admitting all this — his admission that “I’m only acting like this ’cause I like you” makes me smile in a kind of embarrassed way every time, like he’s saying it to me, and damn I wish he was because he’s super cute.
[8]
Iain Mew: Between Khalid’s easy warmth and production that’s both minimal and luxurious, “Location” is a pleasure to listen to. And it has subtweet jokes too!
[8]
Josh Langhoff: This young cyber-age loverman lures you from the crowded bustle of subtweets into the intimate VIP of… your irl location. Forget the stalkery implications; I can’t make it through three minutes of this guy’s earnest vibing without checking my phone. It’s like he saw Riz MC’s surf instructor on Girls and thought, “That dude’s got it good but his life is so hectic.”
[3]
Micha Cavaseno: Mumbly, phlegm-soaked from riding the back of the throat phrasing. Dull R&B slow jam production modernized to feel more soundcloudy than as LaFacey MOR that it really is. This is a record that wasn’t worth the data frankly.
[2]
Will Rivitz: As much as it’s been nice to see Flume move his beats from the bedroom to the club and Nick Murphy FKA Chet Faker metamorphose into a more intensely distorted electronic artist, their late-afternoon pop has been sorely missed. Thankfully, Khalid understands this, and his almost British affect feels at home among a desert of subdued pads and snare rolls. Where I’m from, the temperature’s just dropped below freezing after a few weeks of 60-degree teases, and it’s expected to stay there for the next week; this song’s lazy summer heat has helped me cope.
[8]
I lost track of time over the weekend, otherwise I’d have blurbed this. This is great with even better stuff on the album and Khalid is so talented. I am a huge fan and would have [7] or [8]’d it.