Abel Tesfaye

Week 6: the Weeknd- Hurry up Tomorrow

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It is absolute nonsense that this will be the last album by the Weeknd. He has hinted that he might “kill” his alter ego and start again as Abel Tesfaye. He has also hinted that he might retire from music altogether, and I simply ain’t buying it despite what it says on the opening track ‘Wake Me Up’ on the intro. The album is the trilogy’s final part that includes “After Hours” and “Dawn FM”, both of which I have previously reviewed. Once again, the record is full of synthesisers and nods to that 80s retro sound, a style that has been a defining feature of his music of late. The only plausible reason this might be the final album is that he lost his voice onstage during a concert in 2022. He believes that it was some sign to tell him to stop while he was at his peak.

Abel went into acting in 2023 when he starred in The Idol, which could be another reason he wants to leave music behind. However, after hearing about the drama, it appears he should stick to music. Of course, on his previous album, “Dawn FM,” which was about a radio station in the afterlife, he talked about the end of his alter ego, but this time, he does appear to be hinting at leaving music.

His latest instalment, “Hurry up Tomorrow”, kind of acts as a film as it lasts 88 minutes. He has the legendary Giorgio Moroder on ‘Big Sleep’, which features the score from Scarface, and there is a nod to the film Eraserhead. I heard Abel also wrote a film to accompany the record. It is not your usual short film for an artist, but a full-length film starring him. There are several covers for the sleeve, and the used for streaming platforms looks like a film poster. Again, with these two things alone, Abel is hinting that his heart now belongs on screen.

Unlike his previous albums, where his alter ego’s malevolent nature was a dominant theme, this album presents a more nuanced perspective. The evil side of his alter ego is a rare occurrence, adding an element of intrigue and curiosity for the audience.

While the production is mostly enjoyable, the lyrics and subject matter fall short. If this is the artist’s final work, it’s a departure that lacks his usual style. The constant lamenting about wealth and fame becomes tiresome. Is it a great shame that this is how he has chosen to exit the music scene? The title track that concludes the record holds a surprise-a hidden track featuring a section of his legendary ‘The Hills’. This hidden gem serves as a reminder of the artist’s legacy, but it’s a bittersweet note to end on.

Song recommendations: ‘Big Sleep’, ‘Wake me up’, ‘Hurry up Tomorrow”

7/10

Week 24: Tom Grennan- What ifs and Maybes

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Well, as you will recall, I had the pleasure of reviewing Tom’s previous album, “Evering Road”, which I enjoyed for his maturity and ability to show humility for all the things he had done wrong in past relationships. This time, he is back with “What ifs and Maybes”, which was tactically delayed to avoid a battle with Foo Fighters, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds—then postponed another week to avoid a fight with Niall Horan. This week, despite the competition, it was easier for Tom to take the top spot with his 80s-inspired album that echoes that of Abel Tesfaye, Coldplay, and Ellie Goulding of late.

The record opens with ‘How Does it Feel’, one of the teasers. It is an uplifting 80s synth-pop track that makes you want to dance. The second track, ‘Remind Me,’ is quite peculiar. I believe it’s a song about Tom’s forgetting lyrics when performing. Has this happened at all during performances? Tom fans, let me know. Also, what is apologising for? Something has happened in his life? Or forgetting lyrics during a performance? Going by “Evering Road”, I’d say the former.

My only complaint with the record, including on the Apple Music Edition, is that most tracks need to be longer. You get going with the uplifting melody, cancelling the melancholic lyrics, and then the song ends. I am trying to remember any song being over five minutes. The longest is over four minutes.  Some might moan that melancholic lyrics over uplifting melodies don’t work, but it’s been done for centuries and is still being done. How anyone can take issue with it is a right miserable bastard who doesn’t understand that art is abstract. ‘Crown Your Love’ is one of the slower ballads where Tom brings melancholy lyrics with an optimistic delivery, and why not? Not every ballad has to have a vocal delivery that matches the nature of the lyrics. It is pretty refreshing. He also adopts this on ‘Here’. It was nice to hear Tom move on from “Evering Road” with a more uptempo album. I like his take on 80s synth-pop mixed with slow ballads and, of course, conscious lyrics.

If you listened to the Apple Music Edition, as I did, you will like the club banger ‘Lionheart(Fearless) featuring Joel Corry. I have heard it in a FIFA game or something. Anyway, it is uplifting club music. I gave the album 7/10 for the tracks being too short and that some sounded like they were put on the record to add more tracks. Some even sound like B-sides.

Song recommendations: ‘How Does it Feel’, ‘Lionheart(Fearless)’, ‘Crown Your Love’

7/10

Week 2: the Weeknd- Dawn FM

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I cannot believe I hadn’t written a review since late November when Adele released “30” and then proceeded to hold on to the top spot for the majority of December before being overtaken by Ed Sheeran in the first week of the new year. However, it was widely known that the Weeknd’s “Dawn FM” would take the top spot. It is quite a quirky little record with its premise of you listening to the radio, complete with jingles and advertisements featuring the likes of Jim Carrey and Quincy Jones, to name a few. It made the interludes more intriguing, although I did skip them because you all know my opinions on interludes. Abel has gone for that 80s feel again, as he did on the previous album that spawned the 2020 ‘Blinding Lights’ track and featured on the Mercedes advertisement. It sounds futuristic and retro, with music by Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers. The aforementioned do not feature on the record save for some samples. The production this time includes Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, among others. 

Another thing you will notice about the album is you are listening from inside your vehicle in a traffic jam, but you are dead. It is quite a dark concept. Why, you ask? The theory follows from the previous records where the narrator has finally met his end. Is that true? It could be because the lyrical content seems to suggest it. As we know, Abel talks about drug use and the perils of it and sex in a non-romantic way. 

Abel can sometimes be compared to the Cure for his use of gothic elements but still staying sonically within the chart-friendly confines. 

So, you have him discussing gothic things, but the music fits nicely with the singles charts and takes the edge off, like the Cure executed perfectly in their prime. Since then, the band has gotten darker, but they balance out their shows with those pop classics we grew up with (Well, it depends on who is reading this and how young you are.). Abel, thus far, has kept it under a tight lid, but he unleashes the gothic narrative from Pandora’s box on this record.

This album would make an excellent soundtrack for a remake of Buck Rogers or the gang warfare classic the Warriors. My favourite track was ‘Take My Breath’; I heard the sample of Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ and Nile Rodgers-esque guitar playing. I particularly enjoyed the “Alternate World” section with a remix of ‘Take My Breath’ featuring Agents of Time. It felt like a moment of being in a club, enjoying life and reaching up as the song reaches the drop. I cannot wait for the club-inspired remix to be played out across nightclubs worldwide. So, with “Dawn FM”, we have an album where you listen to the radio while stuck in a traffic jam en route to the other side with lost souls DJing or on advertisements, not fully accepting that they are no longer alive. It is quite a departure from Abel’s usual subjects. He appears to have matured and is willing to refrain from talking about drugs and sex. Although the music may be uplifting 80s, the topics are far darker.

Song recommendations: ‘Take My Breath’, ‘Take My Breath(Remix)’, ‘Out of Time’

8/10

Week Thirteen: the Weeknd- After Hours

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I first heard of Abel Tesfaye in 2013 after listening to a live concert on YouTube, and I remember him for his unique look with his mad hair and crazy spelling of his alias. I was impressed with the songs “Wicked Games”, “Love in the Sky”, and “Pretty” off his debut album and a mixtape that featured his fellow Canadian Drake. Some have said that the debut “Kiss Land” was highly disappointing and didn’t live up to his work featured on the mixtapes from 2011 and 2012, but every album since “Kiss Land” has gone to the summit in his homeland.

Due to the critics panning his debut record, he changed it up for his sophomore record “Beauty Behind the Madness”, which came out in 2015. The best song off that record was the commercially friendly disco funk “Can’t Feel My Face”, which was a very clever way of concealing the song was about meaningless sex and drug use (Listen carefully, and if you’re of a certain age, it doesn’t take a genius to work it out.) There were also songs like “the Hills” and “in the Night” that stood out. For the third album, “Starboy”, the following year, he got Daft Punk on board, which were easily the best two songs on a rather overcooked record.

On his latest record, “After Hours”, Abel is trying to make music that appeals more to the fans of the 1980s with the sound and traditional melancholic lyrics.”Blinding Lights”, which is the lead single off the album has been number one for the last five weeks in the UK and sounds like nothing he has ever done before. It’s definitely a track that will appeal to the fan of 80s music. Then, the other track that sounds different from the norm is “Hardest to Love”, which sounds like a commercial version of drum n bass, and I could certainly hear it being included in a vocal section of a mix by Nicky Blackmarket and the like. I’ve heard that “Too Late” sounds like a UK garage vocal song, but I honestly disagree; I didn’t hear anything remotely like any form of garage on it, and the last song that sounds original, “Save Your Tears”, is very experimental. If I didn’t know I was listening to the record, I would have mistaken it for a new track by MGMT.

What about his lyrical content and song subjects? Have they changed much? Well, not really. He does venture out, but it’s for a short time. Although on tracks like “Faith” and “Save Your Tears” (The latter, I have mentioned regarding the originality of the sound.), he is reflecting on what happened in past relationships and apologising, but he can’t do it without being self-indulgent. His reflection and apology appear like it is to him rather than the ex-girlfriends. The record is entirely egotistical, too, as he brags about fucking women in the studio and then proceeds to mock the plastic surgery they have had done on their faces. He might pause and say, “I don’t criticise” when he talks about that on “Escape from LA”, but it’s more about him once again congratulating himself for his mistake of mocking those women for their physical appearance rather than being sincere.

You may be thinking, after reading my review, “Is it worth even listening to?” the answer is yes. This record is very much what got his name out there originally. It has a consistent story, the songs all fall in together, and although the record may have 14 tracks of pretty much the same with its production, it does change for three songs, so that’s something to look forward to with his next album because I can’t see him playing safe all the time. The deluxe album has 20 tracks, but the additional 6 are just remixes. My other laptop is closed, so I can’t be bothered to go and check on the remixes (I think it is the singles so far.). “After Hours” differs from the rest of his records and offers a preview into the next phase of his career. 7/10