Review: The Weeknd’s Thursday
On the Monday of March 21, something incredible happened in the world of forward-thinking music. Without pretentious buzz, a mountain of press-release hype and stirring media appearances, The Weeknd released House of Balloons on free download without any additional information. That mixtape created such a storm, everyone wanted a piece of it.
June 16, HBO series “Entourage” used “High for This” on an episode. On July 6, House of Balloons was nominated in the 10-album shortlist of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize 2011 alongside Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs and Braids’ Native Speaker among others.
Pitchfork, Vibe, Exclaim!, Fact Mag, The Guardian, Resident Advisor, Rolling Stones and other reliable media have given the album such critical acclaim there wasn’t a single reason to doubt it.
And yesterday, that storm just got bigger with the release of Thursday -part of a trilogy that started with House of Balloon and will end with Echoes of Silence this fall.
Having been acquainted with Abel Tesfaye’s sensuous RnB vocals, a lyrical construct that makes drugs, promiscuous dealings, heart-breaking, alcohol, and depression orgasmically endearing, and coupled with distinctively stripped beats and minimal riffs and synths on Balloons, much is expected from Thursday.
If Balloons had surprised and shaken aural consciousness, Thursday builds it from there and keeps you wandering around. The foundation of which Balloons was set up, possibly (though unintentionally) have made the journey into Thursday seamless. And it’s in the gentler raw content and slightly polisher production that the latest mixtape allows the distinctively aural pleasure to climax.
The 7 minute opener of the 9-track Thursday, “The Zone”, shares resemblance to “High for This” with Adel’s soothing shrieks, ambient noise, simple beats, and a story that speaks of pain in pleasure. It is a welcoming introduction.
The Weeknd - Thursday by The_Weeknd
“The Birds Part 1” and “The Birds Part 2” splits the intensity on two levels. Part 1, with it’s marching drums and Adel screaming and streaming melodies of ‘don’t make me make you fall in love’, makes this track passionately emotive. Part 2 drops it a notch down with muffled electric guitar notes and dreamy basslines allowing it to come off more softer and of course, sadder.
The title track, the last on the mixtape, will probably carry us to Echoes in Silence in breathtaking form. There’s no other way you can describe Thursday but sex on the record.
Download The Weeknd’s Thursday.
Take a listen to House of Balloons below.
