This album is The Weeknd's second studio album after 2013's 'Kiss Land', however he released three popular EP's before that. Although he is notoriously wary of the media, in a recent interview with Pitchfork he spoke about changing his sound for the new album, He said "I owe it to people to make music that makes me feel good and is also a little easier to understand".
The first track on this album is 'Real Life', this track has a powerful intro that gains you attention before it breaks down and the vocals come in. I like the instrumental of this track with it's warped, glitchy sounds. It then goes into the Labrinth featured 'Losers', this track is bittersweet with it's vocals and piano hooks. I really like the latter part of the track which has striking vocals with little instrumental input, before a big, bouncing beat comes in. 'Tell Your Friends' feels like quite an intimate track where he sings about stealing for drug money and other raw topics. Kanye West helped to write and produce this track which should make for good listening, however I'm not too sure about the structure and the way it kind of just keeps rumbling on.
'Often' was the first single from the album, this track has spacey vocals and a good beat. I do find the lyrics on the track quite crass though, especially the line "Baby I can make that pussy rain, often". The next track, 'The Hills' is one of the best on the album in my opinion. The chorus is catchy and the dark and brooding sound really puts you in the drug fueled situation that the song is about. 'Can't Feel My Face' is the most popular single on the album, it's a really good catchy pop song that's a lot easier to listen to than many other track from the artist. One thing that annoys me about this track is the out of tune shriek just before the chorus.
'Earned It', the track famed for appearing on the Fifty Shades Of Grey movie, has a nice flow to it. It has quite a mellow instrumental and vocals that work well with the beat to create a charismatic pop song. The next two tracks are 'In The Night' and 'As You Are', these both follow the standard formula of many tracks by The Weeknd. They both have good quality beats and searching vocals. I like 'As You Are' to a greater extent, it has a powerful rhythm towards the start and becomes more abstract towards the end.
Next up is 'Dark Times', this track features Ed Sheeran. I found that Ed really complimented this track, adding an extra element. Another big artist features on the next track, this time it's Lana Del Rey on 'Prisoner'. This is my favorite track on the album, the two artists create this fantasy sound that you can't help but enjoy. I also like the instrumental with it's bouding beats. Overall I think this album fulfills it's brief very well. It's an album that sees The Weeknd open up to the mainstream with some more pop oriented tracks, mixed with his signature dark hip hop sound. There are many sections that I really enjoy listening to but there are a few points where I find myself lost in the whole melancholy of it.
Highs:
The Hills
Prisoner (ft. Lana Dey Rey)
Lows:
Acquainted
Tell Your Friends
Rating: 6.5/10
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