вЂњ Save your tears for another day.вЂќ Man, heвЂ™s a complete savage on the back half of the album. After Hours is an album meant to keep your body dancing. Pacing wise, the singing doesnвЂ™t drag largely due to the production. Reminds me a bit of SZAвЂ™s вЂњProm.вЂќ I wonder if her next album will fall more into a synth-pop aesthetic? Back to Abel. Okay, maybe not the dollars, but youвЂ™ll need somewhere to catch a groove like itвЂ™s the вЂ™80s. Is that a sax? Who is blowing the sax? This album should have come bundled with a dancefloor and a few rolled-up dollar bills. The narrative may change, but the world heвЂ™s building is defined.

We are supposed to hear these songs in a specific ordering, but IвЂ™m almost certain the album would still be effective if played on shuffle. Sonically, heвЂ™s moving to a beat that compliments every record prior. Every song transitioned with such seamless precision. Sequence wise, by far the best-paced Weeknd album. What inspired him to lean so heavily into synth-pop? HeвЂ™s marked this album with a sound that separates him from the contemporaries in mainstream pop and R&B. вЂњBlinding LightsвЂќ sounds like riding down the interstate underneath a huge, midnight moon. I need The Weeknd to write the theme song for Knight Rider if they ever reboot it (again). These synths are taking me back to the first time I heard Nightcall.

I know The Weeknd has been playing Kavinsky. If I werenвЂ™t sitting at my computer typing, I would let this one play on repeat. Sonically, the song is more layered than school uniforms during a Toronto winter. For a rich man who can give anyone the world, The Weeknd isnвЂ™t able to find any happiness. HeвЂ™s still in the confessional pouring it out. вЂњ This place is never what it seems.вЂќ A lot of passion in this one. A premature observation, but sonically, After Hours is pleasant. ThereвЂ™s some great production on this album. вЂњ Going on tour is my vacation.вЂќ Well, ainвЂ™t no tour either. IвЂ™m pretty sure he does one of these every album. The influence has been obvious, but itвЂ™s nice that we got both Weeknd and Faiyaz albums this year. Did Abel write this? вЂњSnowchildвЂќ sounds like the sequel to вЂњTell Your Friends.вЂќ I must say, hearing The Weeknd like this reminds me of Brent Faiyaz. вЂњ I was blowing smoke had me dizzy like Gillespie.вЂќ The cover girl line.

HeвЂ™s treating the recording booth like a confessional. Oh yes! The production just gets better and better. Far more mature than he was on My Dear Melancholy.В вЂњ I shouldвЂ™ve made you my only.вЂќ Is this a post-breakup album? My favorite so far. The Weeknd sounds like heвЂ™s a mature man now. The vocals are soaring higher than a baby bird who caught the perfect wind beneath its wings. Organ? His voice sounds the most prominent here. Who laid down these drums? This one moves fast, the fastest record thus far. вЂњ I been the hardest to love,вЂќ he confesses on the hook. Although every album heвЂ™s made is centered around love, The Weeknd never makes the subject matter mundane. ThereвЂ™s a concentrated effort in the musicality, not just the songwriting. So far, musically, the project feels designed just for him. How does the album stack up? LetвЂ™s dive in.The Weeknd is crafting an entire world for his voice to live in. IвЂ™m going to give you my honest and initial reactions to each track in new album, After Hours. The Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Prince vibes from The Weeknd makes them one of my favorite musicians of the current era. The Weeknd has quickly climbed to the top of the chain as one of the most successful Canadian recording artists in the business. They have won three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards and even been nominated for an Academy Award. The Weeknd has had a ton of critical acclaim since their debut back in 2010. Regardless, itвЂ™s a track destined for the charts for the rest of the year.Д«linding Lights was the lead single for After Hours making expectations that could not be set any higher. Or perhaps it would be the perfect track for NetflixвЂ™s Stranger Things. Any time that track is playing, I feel like IвЂ™m taking a joy ride in my car while playing GTA: Vice City. Blinding Lights has an incredible 80вЂ™s vibe that I can never seem to get out of my head. I have no shame in admitting that I have spent nearly the last month straight listening to Blinding Lights. The Weeknd is here to help all of us stuck in quarantine and they deliver one of the most hauntingly dark yet beautiful albums in recent memory. If youвЂ™re stuck inside like me, then there is no reason to fear.

The weeknd new album ratings