REVIEW: The Weeknd - Thursday

Genre: R&B/Experimental
Origin: Toronto, Ontario

Earlier this year, Toronto-based Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, gave us a surprising Spring mixtape called House of Balloons - released digitally for free - that provided some heavy R&B with slick production and some pretty undeniable beats. With said elements and a hint of mystery surrounding the release, it may have possibly been some of the best indie R&B of the last year, resulting in word-of-mouth and underground success partially in thanks to the great endorsement from recording artist Drake. Now that we are more than half-way through the year and deep into Summer, The Weeknd has released his latest mixtape called Thursday (without question, released on Thursday, Aug. 18th). Does this new mixtape match the surprise that was House of Balloons?

Let's first take both mixtapes at face value. As stated in my review of House of Balloons, its album cover is decidedly black-and-white, almost as if to lyrically be so explicit that the beats became a hard-putting behemoth of sinful bliss. Thursday is quite the opposite, featuring some kind of color spectrum and three pictures with Polaroid-like quality, and like its brother before it, elements heard on Thursday are further reflected in this imagery. Jumping right into business with "Lonely Star," the beat and key is much brighter than anything found on House of Balloons, as if maybe The Weeknd were going to approach a newer, different direction. "Life of the Party," too, feels like it might be taking what The Weeknd had to offer up before and bring it into more color and light.

Admirable, of course, but as lighter as they are, the more we see the weight of this thing. Once you reach the epic 8-minute "Gone," you might realize something feels less urgent, less applicable, and less special.

It's just as arousing as its predecessor, but it's also less immediate. It still provides the same sleek production quality and Abel taking center stage with similar lyrical themes like overpowering sex and fighting his demons, which is fine, but the idea that this particular sound is more inviting and more accessible doesn't entirely match up. This isn't really a bad thing considering there are (very) good beats found on this thing, but given what Abel has to say and what is now musically in store, I'm more appreciative towards House of Balloons being unwelcoming and a harsher affair, where his marriage of hard-hitting lyrical content and darker beats felt not only appropriate but deeply complex.

Maybe I'm comparing them too much. Maybe there are those of you who have just found Thursday and want to stick solely to this mixtape for review. Well, quite frankly, the true merits of Thursday as its own record remains to be seen on a majority of the tracks. While the beats are good as I previously stated, they often meander into slow tunes that don't really go anywhere, to the point where they may present themselves to be great for having sex to but not for everyday hearing when you're MOST LIKELY going to be listening to it. Tracks like the aforementioned "Gone" and "Thursday" just seem directionless given the stellar quality of the production, and they're just a lot more grounded on slower energy than you'd find on its predecessor. There I go again with the comparison, but can't you tell which one you might want to listen to first?

I digress. The tracks here are still better than a majority of songs being played in today's community, especially two of them. The tracks "The Zone" featuring Drake offers a nice break from The Weeknd's vocal highs and "The Birds" (Parts 1&2) is rather reminiscent of something found on House of Balloons with it's darker aplomb, which gives the listener a better sensibility about where The Weeknd might be going. It's not that the other seven tracks found on here are any less that nature, because these two mixtapes really have been somewhat of an experiment that I'm more than willing to go along with, but at least these couple of tracks offer greater qualities that will make me want to come back to them more often than not.

So the mystery and surprise has somewhat faded now that The Weeknd are making a name for themselves, and that might've helped make House of Balloons a greater affair in comparison, but that hasn't stopped Abel from continuing his line of work. Even if Thursday ends up being more of the same in more ways than one, it just means we have more of The Weeknd to go around, and that isn't a bad thing whatsoever. The excellent couple of tracks and stream-lined flow are enough to warrant a download and, while I might come off as disliking the mixtape overall, it's still better than a great percentage of music floating around these days. After all, it may just be the next addition to Abel's experiment that we hope gives R&B a run for its money on the third mixtape (reportedly out this fall), and we'll be here to listen.

The Weeknd - "The Zone" feat. Drake


The Weeknd - "The Birds Part 2"


Thursday is self-released and is available for free over at their official website.

Crash Thursday: The Strokes - Angles

The first lyric off "Machu Piccu", the first track of The Strokes latest album Angles, states that "I'm putting your patience to the test," and I totally buy it, considering the music scene has been pretty much dry of any new Strokes material for five years. The anticipation for a new album has been partly arousing and partly confusing, as I've tried to cope with the fact that these guys have pretty much done everything with the right mindset since their stellar debut Is This It ten years ago, and yet they've only produced four albums. Does it really beg the question over whether they can keep up their sound after such an unusually long hiatus? Well, after one listening of Angles, I can safely say that the question is rather pointless. The Strokes haven't gone anywhere.

Julian Casablancas and his mighty crew of excellence have done quite well on Angles. For the 34 minutes that the album runs with, The Strokes perform a full-fledged show for the ears, varying in results of unique and oftentimes epic sounds of great rhythm and syncopation, the first half especially. The frequently played "Under Cover of Darkness" is rightly played out, as it hearkens right back to their first album. "Taken For A Fool" also fits in similar line, blasting such power to fit a tight rhythm that's enlightening. "You're So Right" is perhaps the grooviest and most fun track of The Strokes I've yet to hear, with a purposely short track length to fit in all the unique qualities of fuzzy guitar and buzzed bass that make it sound like it came right out of Radiohead's Kid A.

The second half presents something a little more experimental if not mixed experience for The Strokes, bringing in synths and electronics to tinker their guitar work, such as on "Games" and "Call Me Back". The sounds are interesting, yet they seem discordant with Casablancas' vocal and lyrical style. That isn't to say they're not good, but it does somewhat drag what they've so effortlessly established in the first half. Things kick back into gear with "Gratisfaction" only to have "Metabolism" enter, and it sounds as if Muse entered the studio. It's a little bit discombobulating (yes, I used that word in everyday English), but it still crosses a finish line with flying colors.

So are The Strokes back? Yes - in some form - and you should be happy. Is This It may continue to be their masterpiece and "signature sound," but their latest offerings on Angles mixes and matches The Strokes catalog and solo efforts in a way that never feels rushed or lacking. They provide new directions they may head into, but they also provide what The Strokes are always best at. If another five year hiatus is in order, I cannot expect any less of them.

3.5/5

The Strokes - Taken For A Fool


The Strokes - You're So Right


Angles is available on Rough Trade Records on March 22nd.

Crash Thursday: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong

Shoegazing seems to be a popular target to get a listener's head to nod side to side, a hand to strum the air guitar strapped around their neck, or a foot to tap until the bone begins to chisel. This is the style that has branded artists like Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine, and it has now branded New York City's The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. This is not one of your run-of-the-mill-type brands, however - this is one of the good ones.

I don't know if it's the 90's nostalgia that's hitting me or the incessant need to turn my volume up to 10, but there's a reason why shoegaze works so well. The frequent use of flange to appropriate the longing distance between chords and the respective lyrical content make the music soar high and above, even if it does tend to meander. Luckily, The Pains don't make Belong a repetitive affair - this is just delightful.

The starting title track and the song "Too Tough" are perfect examples of the genre, cranking the flanging guitars and low-vibe harmonics to match the vocalist's subtle and chilled tone. Any of the two bands mentioned in the above paragraph could have easily turned these tunes into hits of their own, and it helps that these two tracks help to open and close the album, respectively. Tracks like "The Body" and "My Terrible Friend" continue the trend, albeit much more upbeat and producing bass similar to that of 80's synth-pop. The other six tracks remain consistently and surprisingly vibrant and nourished, keeping a balance of both rhythm and beat that's scattered nicely throughout the album.

These ten tracks are pure shoegazing, and that's a stellar choice. Sure, it's easy to write off Belong as a close repeat performance of big bands prior, but The Pains aren't making music for comparisons. Quite frankly, they're making music to add to the dimensions that shoegazing offers in the first place.

4/5

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Too Tough


Belong is available on Slumberland Records on March 29th.

Crash Thursday: No Age - Everything in Between

I'll be blunt and say this is my first dip into No Age. Only had I recently heard tracks from their previous LP Nouns that I was even remotely interested in their catalog and in their latest LP, entitled Everything in Between. To my surprise, I found myself fully engaged for the 38-minute run time, with sounds I might have only imagined could they have existed in distant lands, yet here I sit, headphones in ears.

Frankly, the title does sum up the album. It's a fun slice of noise pop that sort of straddles into many territories, ranging from fuzzy lo-fi punk to jolly clean production. I suppose it's better to say that this is an album of immersed influences, aside from the vocals (which are pretty good too!). It takes an excellent leap forward with the song "Glitter" which is fully engaging and encapsulating that the sounds are ready to jump out and take a bite. It does, for the most part, as the album's vibe gradually becomes steadier yet less urgent in sections, but it still is one hell of a fun listen. Songs like "Fever Dreaming," "Depletion," "Valley Hump Crash" and "Chem Trails" are so frenetic and incredibly ear pleasing that they help to round out an album that would have otherwise just been pretty flat.

In other words, Everything in Between is pretty badass.

8/10

No Age - "Glitter"


No Age - "Fever Dreaming"


Everything in Between is available now on Subpop Records.