Khalid makes the kind of music that appeals to people who move in silence. By the time Free Spirit was released on Friday, Khalid had already spoiled a half-dozen of its songs as teaser singles. Khalid's self-imposed deadlines were met with the ardor of a man possessed. That's invariably where Khalid's strengths lie - in a perfectionist attitude. If only Khalid was there to finish all the diecast models of my childhood.
To me, "Right Back" is the song he gets right. Let me preface this by acknowledging that Free Spirit, as the title would suggest, is part of a prolonged coming of age story we've been privy to for some time now. "Right Back" is evidently as compactly-pressed as the other songs on the record. The difference is, here Khalid is his own mitigated self. He is present in the world - and best of all: the joint production undertaken by
Quotable Lyrics:
Life is never easy when you need it to be
Try to knock me down, but I get back on my feet
Everybody's angry and they're coming for me
But I can't give them energy that I won't receive
So I brush 'em off, I got a lot on my sleeve.
- Khalid