American teens everywhere fell in love with then 18-year-old Khalid Donnell Robinson when his first album, American Teen, was released on March 3, 2017. Khalid quickly became a musical sensation with hits like “Location” and “Young Dumb and Broke” ranking in the top 20 songs on Billboard. He did not stop there, quickly becoming one out of two solo teens to reach the top 10 on Billboard’s top 200, according to billboard.com.

Now 20 years old, Khalid has left behind his teenage years and abandoned his innovative take on R&B and pop, which is evident in his new EP, Suncity. Khalid tweeted that this EP would be the “start of a new era.” The album, which debuted on Oct. 19, has seven tracks in total, each featuring a different sound. It is evident, however, that Khalid focuses too much on trying to make the sounds of each song unique, instead of concentrating on making meaningful lyrics. This was a common theme throughout the short album.

In the song, “Motion” Khalid repeats the lyrics “I’m in love with the moments,” every few seconds. When he can’t think of anything else to say, he opts to fill the song with layered acoustic sounds. Khalid’s latest songs are like an ice cream sundae gone wrong- you keep on adding layers thinking it will taste better, but you ultimately get a stomach ache and can’t eat anymore.

Among the seven tracks, Khalid also takes a risk by including interludes of people talking about themselves and issues in society instead of singing, giving rise to the question if this can be considered a true music album or not.

Khalid’s latest album is a chaotic clash of sounds that lacks the relatable lyrics which brought him to fame in the first place. His effort to try and create a new, unique album is appreciated. However, in doing so, he forgets what music is truly about- the lyrics and the message.