On 'Young Dumb & Broke,' the mere concept of commitment seems so silly to him that he can't be bothered to enunciate the word, or maybe he just lost interest after the second syllable. There's not a whole lot of enthusiasm for revelry, dulled by substances, apathy, a combination of the two, or just the aspiration to look the part: 'I'm so faded off of all the things I've taken, and maybe I'm not really drunk, maybe I'm really good at faking.' There are points at which Robinson makes Frank Ocean sound like Teddy Pendergrass. 'American Teen' itself - hollowed-out late-'80s mall pop with a disco-funk bassline - is a youth anthem of shrugging aimlessness. He's in no particular rush, content to drift through life while accepting, and occasionally sort of celebrating, the present.
In that song, and through much of what fills out American Teen, his debut album, Robinson's not one to get worked up. Khalid Robinson made major commercial headway in early 2017 with 'Location,' a drowsy, teetering ballad the singer and songwriter seemed to deliver while lying on his bed, or maybe someone else's couch, eyes glued to his phone, just after waking up. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
