The Weeknd has finally dropped his highly anticipated album, After Hours, keeping fans up after hours. Pun intended. As the coronavirus forces us all into a period of quarantine, self isolation, and uncertainty, the Weeknd offers a light in what feels like a dark time.
The LP spans 14 tracks and is completely featureless. Abel Tesfaye invites us to take a deeper look into his dark and somewhat paranoid universe, that is of course filled with distortion and drugs. There are also hints throughout of a much more mature and self reflective Abel, which may be due to the fact that he turned 30 last month.
Abel has clearly departed from his Starboy days, as the album is filled with moody records with retro and electronic inspired beats. The album starts off with gentle quieter songs that are synth-heavy. The album’s mood is set with tracks like the haunting “Alone Again,” and “Too Late,” which are filled with ominous keyboards and sinister sub-bass. We then shift into the aching “Hardest to Love,” followed by the slow ballad “Scared to Live,” before transitioning into the autobiographical “Snow Child.”
“Snow Child” and “Faith” are clearly standout tracks on the LP as they perfectly showcase what Abel has always been best at: creating a distorted reality with his muffled vocals. These two tracks along with “Escape From LA,” will leave his House of Balloon era fans very satisfied. The songs feature production from his day-one producer Illangelo, bringing back his 2010 tones.
On “Snow Child,” he makes reference to 2011’s “The Morning,” and 2015’s “Tell Your Friends,” where he used the line “Cali is the mission,” and now flips it to, “Cali was the mission now a n—- leaving.”
Now we’re 25 minutes into the album, and here comes the dance bangers we’ve all been waiting for. “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless” are probably the biggest hits of his career thus far. “In Your Eyes” and “Save your Tears” are filled with infectious 80s synth pop sounds, while “After Hours” house beats will find you dancing around your kitchen alone. Or maybe thats just me.
On “Repeat After Me (Interlude),” Kevin Parker helps Abel mellow things out again. On the Parker produced track, Abel sings delicately and sounds sweet over the layer of synth chords throughout. If you listen closely you can even here a Tame-Impala-like electronic squiggle or two.
The fun ends and the ominous atmosphere returns with the final track “Until I Bleed Out,” and what we presume to be an unhappy ending.
After Hours is clearly Abel’s best work. During this difficult time I’m sure we’ve all been leaning on music to get us through more than ever. The Weeknd offers us a perfect and brief escape from reality with After Hours.
Listen to After Hours below.