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Got a hold of The Weeknd's new album "Beauty Behind the Madness" (officially dropping next week), and I've been really enjoying it. R&B isn't a genre I usually listen to (with a few notable exceptions from the 90s), I find it too formulaic. However I just found out that The Weeknd is actually PBR&B (an electronic influenced sub-genre named after the hipster classic PBR beer) so of course I have to embrace it. :)
I'm digging his sound combined with his lyrics - there is a rawness of expression that still manages to convey his underlying earnestness. When he says "when I'm fucked up that's the real me" you believe him, but still want to be with him.
To me there are a couple of distinct sounds on this album. The 80s style, Michael Jackson songs of "Can't Feel My Face" and "In the Night" get me snapping and strutting. Say what you will about Max Martin, he knows how to crank out hits, and I feel like he has really helped The Weeknd form a crowd pleasing R&B/pop sound.
But I also really like the slower, smoother sounds of the rest of the album, R&B crooning but with a dark and electronic edge in sound and lyrics ("Shameless, "Angel"). Ok, "Earned It" is from 50 Shades of Gray soundtrack, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it with your significant other, BDSM equipment optional. ;)
I was a bit disappointed in the collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Ray. Wasn't expecting a lot from Ed Sheeran since I'm not really a fan of his, but I do like Lana Del Ray and feel like their sounds (and energies) could have been a cool mix, but "Prisoner" was just meh for me.
Overall though, I really like the twists on R&B that The Weeknd brings. Don't you feel like this would be playing at R. Kelly's after after party where everyone is massively drunk but not quite ready to pass out just yet? When the best conversations happen, when you discover (or re-discover) connections with people?
Enjoy!
Zena's rating: 4/5
Will be sending a link to you all via e-mail.
I like this album a lot. I've now listened to it about five times, although not all the way through - one critique that leaps to mind is that the length of each track is a bit much, which lends the album perhaps 10-15 more minutes than it should have. It's a very strong effort, with a lot of range (sometimes too much, as it feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be). But "Acquainted" is an intimate masterpiece. Good reco!
ReplyDeleteI don't like R&B and I never listen to it.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying The Weeknd (who I did not know).
I reminds me of Michael Jackson. Definitely.
Good sound, even though, it is not my style of music
3.5