My fellow Scarborough resident Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye continues his assault on the music world with his third album released in just nine months. The album is the third in a trilogy of nocturnal tales of love, lust, and excess. The album has topped many of 2011's best of lists and is easily one of the most anticipated releases of 2011. Let's take a look and see if all the hype is warranted.
Like "House of Balloons" and "Thursday" before it, the album has a decidedly bleak feel about it. Opener "D.D." is a cover of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana". The song does justice to the original, with Tesfaye producing an eerie facsimile of the "King of Pop" but with added coldness through the use of very sparse and robotic beats. I normally sneer at Jackson covers, but this is one that works (sorry, Alien Ant Farm). The gorgeous and elegant "Montreal" really shows what all of the hype is about. The beautiful French language introduction/sample is accompanied by thunderous tribal drums that would not sound out of place on Kanye West's under appreciated "808s & Heartbreak". The songs delicate piano chords and soft backup vocals really flesh out the song. The track is simply beautiful, frigid bleak much like the city the song is named after during the cold Canadian winter. Easily the best R & B song I have heard in years.
"Outside" sounds like "Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The very retro and Asian sounding main hook is insanely catching and brings forth a deeply meditative state for the listener. The vintage, almost Bladerunner-like synthesizers add to the 1980s feel of the track. The vocals are quite simply spellbinding, the Jackson-like moan Tesfaye shows emotion rarely heard in music nowadays. The blood can literally heard on the tracks, the heartbreak clearly evident in his voice. Next is the cinematic "XO/The Host", a lament about alcohol and narcotics and the debauchery we commit during the waking hours of the day. Like much of his work, the song is deeply self-reflective, an examination of the soul and all of its blemishes. The vocals on this track instantly reminded me of the incredibly underrated Terius "The-Dream" Nash. The song is quite gritty, and Tesfaye throws in some vocal gravel into his larynx. The heavily distorted guitar adds to the feeling of discomfort and unease. The songs breaks down in a outro that uses squelchy synths and heavily echoing drum beats supporting a bellyache of lost love.
The rough and raw "Initiation" is extremely unsettling both musically and lyrically. The vocals are mangled both in a higher and lower sense of pitch. The lyrics reflect a sense of paranoia and confusion, as well as sexual aggression. The song sounds like the feelings that creep into one's mind around 2 or 3 am, the nocturnal jittery feelings when one is deprived of sleep. The song's weed and booze vibe is clear, reflecting both the up and down effects of said substances. Truly disturbing. "Same Old Song" continues with Asian theme established by "Outside". Gentle Asian-sounding keyboards levitate above a nice acoustic drum beat. The song is appears to be directed at an ex, showing a lyrical maturity far above Tesfaye's quite young age of 21. The song is slow and enjoyable, and probably the most traditional song on the album. Juicy J throws in a verse, but this does not really add much to the song and it is quite short.
"The Fall" is probably the weakest track on the album. The song is concerned about the trappings that fame and success bring, and is a reflection of Tesfaye's amazingly quick rise to international recognition. The song is hopeful about the future, but somewhat fragile and delicate at the same time. The near-constant hand claps musically reflect fame, perhaps the audience themselves. The claps intermittently disappear, perhaps signifying the fleeting nature of fame and the excess it can bring. Haunting "Next" again shows the clear Michael Jackson influence of these albums. The song is concerned again with the consequences of fame. Tesfaye expresses his frustration with those only interested in him for his fame. The song is exceptionally lonely, and the sombre piano is supported by desolate strings and a faded response by a modified female-like response vocal. The song is quite impressive, and shows that he may be only 21, but well beyond those years in terms of maturity. The album closes with the frozen "Echoes Of Silence". The delicate piano track is Tesfaye at his most bare and self-reflective. He makes a plea for his lover to stay, showing a sensitive side that is only now acceptable to show in hip-hop and R & B. The song is very bleak and depressing, but quite impressive and almost Gothic.
"Echoes Of Silence" is very impressive and highly enjoyable. The rise of "The Weeknd" is a culmination of years of a changing urban musical landscape. More experimental artists like Kanye West and The-Dream have surely left an undeniable impact on the genre. Deeply emotional, bleak, and intensely self-reflective, this is urban music for the 21st century. I eagerly look forward to the music soon to come from the Weeknd, and if this album is any indication, it is sure to be revolutionary and invigorating. Great.
Rating-9/10
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