Review Summary: The sequel trilogy we deserved
After Hours was not just a chart-monster that cemented The Weeknd as the biggest pop artist in the world, but the culmination of the evolution of his sound over the course of his entire career. Starting from the atmospheric experimental rnb of the mixtapes, to the pop of
Beauty and the 80s disco of
Starboy,
After Hours brought all these influences together in one perfectly timed, perfectly assembled blend. Somehow, all his sides shone, and all fans could delight.
Dawn FM leant into the thematics and the 80s as a very worthy follow-up with its own identity and highly-focused production. It was at this point that Abel publicly defined this era a new trilogy, did some bad acting and announced his desire to drop the “Weeknd” moniker.
Hurry Up Tomorrow certainly has the air of both its predecessors, in part featuring recordings back to the
After Hours era, but to call this a polished collection of outtakes is to be uncharitable. The care and craft in sequencing and production spearheaded by Mike Dean and Oneohtrix Point Never are wondrous, and hits are scattered throughout. An 84 minute , this is not a collection of hit after hit. However, the fast is balanced with the slow, all different influences are allowed to breathe, and the transitions soothe you into a tapestry of music that makes you wanna dance, sing or weep. This is easily the closest we have come to a Weeknd double album, or for that matter a Weeknd b-sides album, or a fourth mixtape, and I love it for all those reasons, as Tesfaye's sound has always excelled at the boundary of studio brilliance and atmospheric experimentalism - the perfectly imperfect.
Hurry Up Tomorrow is a celebration of these last five years, the pinnacle of The Weeknd's career from unknown & underground trailblazer to an icon of pop in his own right.
“Wake Me Up” sets the tone. A ponderous start gives way to a beat-drop where the light seems to flood in, and Tesfaye dances between synth-pop and typical brooding melancholy. “São Paulo” is a driving pop song laced with Latin feel, and “Timeless” a groovy hip-hop hit. You'll find another banger in the groovy disco crooning of “Open Hearts”, but it's nearly worth listening to the previous “Baptized in Fear” just for the transition alone. “Given Up On Me” is a bombastic rnb number that echoes the darkness of his early sound, before it suddenly turns into J-Dilla type soul. “Take Me Back to LA” is a great pop song. “Drive” paves the way for the more menacing and atmospheric back-end of the album, which peaks with “The Abyss” and arguably the best feature on the album from Lana Del Rey.
Little here pushes the envelope of The Weeknd's sound in a particularly meaningful way, but it is truly impressive to hear how cohesive and well-balanced Tesfaye's studio albums have become. The production here is rarely wild, nor maximalist in arrangement, but it allows his voice to shine while driving the whole project forward, and it sounds as punchy and lush as it ever has. If this is truly the last studio album under the moniker of The Weeknd (and I am suspicious of such diva noises), it is an apt overview of everything leading up to this moment, a return to home that echoes the mixtapes while acknowledging and maturating all that has come since.
