![the weeknd new album listen the weeknd new album listen](https://i1.sndcdn.com/visuals-000003274725-J1GcTy-original.jpg)
He’s not saving her, or anyone for that matter. What happened to the loving, compassionate Weeknd? He took the cape is off. “ Save your tears for another day.” Man, he’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 doesn’t drag largely due to the production. Reminds me a bit of SZA’s “Prom.” I wonder if her next album will fall more into a synth-pop aesthetic? Back to Abel. Okay, maybe not the dollars, but you’ll need somewhere to catch a groove like it’s the ’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 he’s building is defined. We are supposed to hear these songs in a specific ordering, but I’m almost certain the album would still be effective if played on shuffle. Sonically, he’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? He’s marked this album with a sound that separates him from the contemporaries in mainstream pop and R&B. “Blinding Lights” 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.
![the weeknd new album listen the weeknd new album listen](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000120737552-on8sow-t500x500.jpg)
I know The Weeknd has been playing Kavinsky. If I weren’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 isn’t able to find any happiness. He’s still in the confessional pouring it out. “ This place is never what it seems.” A lot of passion in this one.
![the weeknd new album listen the weeknd new album listen](https://www.theweeknd.com/sites/g/files/aaj14401/f/styles/suzuki_breakpoints_image_mobile-lg_sq/public/release/202104/ab67616d0000b2737a5b4e0ebe93011c797193ea.jpg)
A premature observation, but sonically, After Hours is pleasant. There’s some great production on this album. “ Going on tour is my vacation.” Well, ain’t no tour either. I’m pretty sure he does one of these every album. The influence has been obvious, but it’s nice that we got both Weeknd and Faiyaz albums this year. Did Abel write this? “Snowchild” sounds like the sequel to “Tell Your Friends.” I must say, hearing The Weeknd like this reminds me of Brent Faiyaz. “ I was blowing smoke had me dizzy like Gillespie.” The cover girl line. He’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. “ I should’ve made you my only.” Is this a post-breakup album? My favorite so far. The Weeknd sounds like he’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. “ I been the hardest to love,” he confesses on the hook. Although every album he’s made is centered around love, The Weeknd never makes the subject matter mundane. There’s a concentrated effort in the musicality, not just the songwriting. So far, musically, the project feels designed just for him. The Weeknd is crafting an entire world for his voice to live in.