The Weeknd - After Hours ALBUM REVIEW

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I’ve been following The Weeknd and his music since his House of Balloons days, and I gotta tell you, it’s been a wild ride. Since he’s gone more mainstream, though, it’s felt like he’s been playing it really safe, especially on his last album Starboy. After taking a nearly five-year break from studio albums (and filling the void with one EP, My Dear Melancholy…), Abel Tesfaye is back with After Hours. With its singles “Heartless,” “Blinding Lights,” and the title track, I was getting heavy Trilogy vibes mixed with some of the pop undertones from his mainstream breakthrough Beauty Behind the Madness. So, outside of all of the hype, does After Hours make a good album? Let’s find out, shall we?

After Hours is an R&B album, and it has influences that range from dream-pop and neo-soul to synthwave and even some hints of new wave and disco. After Hours has no features at all, a first for a Weeknd album. Although, there was an EP that was put out that featured remixes from electronic duo Chromatics and one of the biggest rappers on the planet Lil Uzi Vert, along with various producers. The 80s synth aesthetic fits Tesfaye very well, and it shows on “Blinding Lights” and the opening track “Alone Again,” which is one of the best intros to an album I’ve heard in a very long time. “In Your Eyes” has a cinematic feel, especially with that saxophone that comes later in the track. My favorite track keeps flipping around “Scared To Live,” an Oneohtrix Point Never produced ballad I never knew I needed, and “Save Your Tears.” Who knew that Tame Impala producing an R&B track would be this godly?

Alas, I found out early on that this wouldn’t be a perfect album, but damn close to one. I feel that “Too Late” is one of Tesfaye’s worst tracks not only on After Hours, but maybe even his whole career. Other than that, the rest of the tracks are decent at the least. For many albums, that’s very hard to achieve.

Simply put, After Hours is The Weeknd’s best body of work since Trilogy. This new sound may or may not carry into the future of his career, but with what he delivered us, I’m perfectly satisfied with what we got.


9/10


Stream After Hours here

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube Music

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