By PATRICK DOHERTY
Stand-out Tracks: “House of Balloons – Glass Table Girls,” “The Birds Pt. 1+2,” and “Initiation”
Abel Tesfaye took an enormous risk last year, and it played out perfectly. Throughout 2011, Tesfaye, better known by his stage-name The Weeknd, released three mix tapes for free on his website. These were not your average bedroom-produced, cheap synthetic works either; each release was hailed as a fantastic innovation in an emerging genre of music for which most journalists still have not agreed on a name. Genre names have ranged from the boring “Alternative R’n’B,” to the pigeonholing PBR&B, a portmanteau that invokes the “hipster” friendly beverage PBR. However you classify the stylistic alternative to most contemporary music, all that matters is The Weeknd created music that wowed critics and fans on every corner, and now all the mix tapes are being released together for under $10 through online retailers.
The entire collection has been officially remastered in studio, providing superior audio quality and diversity. In addition, Tesfaye has created some brand-new tunes as an extra, which are worthy incentives.
Tesfaye’s musical style is defined by low, punchy percussion, smooth, lurking basses and, when it is appropriate, glittering and bright synths that perfectly juxtapose to the ambient elements that hang out in the lower timbres. His lyricism flawlessly switches from roof-raising party build-ups to cynical critiques of culture, people and himself. Perhaps the most cutting example is the brooding lyric “Wicked Games” where Tesfaye croons, “Bring your love baby I can bring my shame/Bring the drugs baby I can bring my pain/I got my heart right here, I got my scars right here”.
House of Balloons plays like a crazy mood-swing: the anticipation of “High for This,” the dark excitement of partying in an underground club in “House of Balloons-Glass Table Girls,” and the painful, loneliness of “The Knowing.”
Thursday is a more subdued mix of music, powered by the dancing hi-hats and a laid-back Drake appearance on “The Zone,” synthetic build-ups and marching drum snares on “The Birds Pt. 1+2,” and the droning ambience and Spanish guitar mixed with the regret-tinged lyrics on “Rolling Stone.”
Echoes of Silence is arguably the most daring of the three, with the quivering synthetic strings and distorted snares of “XO/The Host,” the dangerous and nigh-threatening lyrics of “Initiation,” and the reverb-laced claps and echoing chorus in “The Fall,” starring Tesfaya desperately shouting out, “Are you scared of the fall?”
While these mix tapes are all free online, the re-release is a great starting point for new fans. The album also offers incentives for older followers to support the artist while appreciating the new mastering and additional bonus tracks offered.
