The Weeknd Saved Some For "After Hours" (Album Review)
A few years ago, I was high as fuck listening to Kodak’s Project Baby 2 for the first time really late at night. I felt called to write about it as I was listening. Unfortunately, I lost most of it on an old laptop, but I do remember saying something along the lines of “Kodak is our generation’s Tupac” – you can see why I chose not to share that lol.
Anyways, I decided then that it would be cool to share “live reactions/reviews” to projects and songs, as I first listen to them. Check out my reaction to After Hours below, and let me know what you think of the idea. Be sure to watch the next episode of FRAGMENT RADIO to hear the guys and I break down our thoughts on it.
“Scared to Live” is when I caught a vibe. Before that, I just felt confused. The first song got me excited, the next two were boppy but confused me- he's clearly sad and lonely, but that's not what I expected to get from The Weeknd on this album. I expected a crazy fun coke dude, given the character I seen in the “Heartless” music video. But this just sounds like a disco John legend... Until “Scared to Live” which just sounds like John Legend-John Legend lol (in the sense that it’s a light but heavy produced serenade). Favourite song so far. But that intro needs to be revisited.
*Update: The intro track, “Alone Again” does indeed slap.*
Lol I knew “Snowchild” was gonna be a vibe based on what I seen online but- Woah... Talk your shit Abel. Mood music. I don't have much to say cause Woah. Kick comes in beautifully. This is the kind of production I vibe most with. He really letting it all out… This is more vulnerability than I expected, even from The Weeknd. “Cali was the mission. Now a n**** leaving”. A LOT of bars in that first verse shook me, but damn that 3rd verse slapping too. “20 mil mansion, never lived in it,” Yikes. New favourite song? Lol
I remember hearing a lot about this “Escape from LA” song online too, I'm not feeling it that much? The continuity from the song before is fire though (theme wise, as well as sonically). I did see someone comment about the "we had sex in the studio" line, didn't think that was hard when I heard it- kinda fire tho lol.
“Heartless”, the first single released, which didn't even release too long ago, is slapping right now. I was wondering earlier if this is the part of the album where we’re gonna see a "character switch”. Maybe a climax to the album? I'm just trying to figure out where the broken nose and bloody face come from (from the music video/cover)?? LOL I need an After Hours movie.
“if i O.D. i want you to O.D. right beside me”
“Faith” - The Weeknd
“Faith” sounds interesting. This is a sound I was not ready for, and am not sure I've heard? Since maybe 070 Shake's project. It’s pop-ish, but also has elements of music I love. “If I O.D. I want you to O.D. right beside me”. I read earlier that Abel played some instruments on this album, I wouldn't be surprised if he played this bass line. Cause I could play this bass line LOL.
*Update: This might be my favourite song as I’m going back through editing this post. Unique vibes.*
I heard “Blinding Lights” earlier today and was surprised by how much I liked it. I wasn’t a fan of how pushy the beat was at first, but I guess this is one of those “listen til you like” type tracks. It grew on me. I'm only really listening to what he's saying now and it’s much different than I originally thought it was- it’s a lot darker. It's got his disco vibes, but he's got emotion behind it. I guess he did it on “Can't Feel My Face”, but I’m going out on a limb and saying this is more explicitly dark. Much darker than the “four to the floor” drum pattern would lead you to believe.
Don't have much to say about In Your Eyes”, besides that I like the synth sound and love the saxophone. This one gonna grow on me too. Favourite song so far because of how different it is. At least my favourite “disco” sounding song on this album.
*As a discussion point, who else makes music like this? With a disco sound?*
Damn “Save Your Tears” is my new favourite song (on this album). It immediately caught me. I'm catching weird vibes from that intro, in a good way. It reminds me of some alt-rock ass shit I would have listened to as a 12-year-old. The Weeknd’s voice is kinda throwing me off because it doesn’t sound like the boy band I would have expected to go over this instrumentation, but somehow it fits.
“you don’t love him if you’re thinking of me”
“Repeat After Me (Interlude)” - The Weeknd
Damn. This tune going hard right off the bat. I think I'm officially a fan of this project. It's more different than I expected. Yikes, "You don't love him if you're thinking of me". Sheesh... I'll let this song speak for itself. “Repeat After Me (Interlude)” is a great vibe tune. My original thought was that this album was good, but not worth the wait/anticipation, but man this chorus changed everything. This is GOING right now. Great shit. Dope production on here, gonna have to check if that was Metro. Also, I just remembered there's not a single feature. Didn’t even notice. Now THAT is impressive. Not too many artists would have kept me entertained this long without a feature.
*Update: Production was headed by Kevin Parker, of Tame Impala, not Metro. Dope, nonetheless.*
Did a blog post for HNHH about how “After Hours” was towards the end of the album, so now I'm low-key bummy it's almost over LOL (wild how much my opinion changed within the first listen). This song is absolutely incredible. I almost wish he didn't share it ahead of time because it would have taken this album release to the next level. Imagine listening to this song for the first time, after hearing the rest of this project. It would certainly be the standout. And I stand by that still. But also, what do I know? The release of this song could have played a very large role in building the anticipation of the project. I hear the album is projected to move 500k first week 🙃. But yeah, this is definitely the best song on here. But maybe not by much, cause there are definitely some others on here that that are very close. "Where are you now when I need you most," whew. Does he drop the “house is not a home” line earlier in the album? Or did I hear that in a different song earlier today lol not sure, but if he DID, get this guy an award.
“where are you now when i need you most’
“After Hours” - The Weeknd
I'm expecting this last song to be even better, cause low-key this intro amping me up more than it should LOL… Damn. I'm not gonna say I loved that song, but that is definitely one way to end an album. I'm left wanting more. Which is odd, I haven’t felt that way in a while. We're used to albums being hella long, or way too short. I’m either tired by the end of it, or not given enough time to build anticipation. The way this song/album ended was quite incredible, really.
I'm not ready to say that I think After Hours is The Weeknd’s best project, but I'll get into that in a future post. For now, that was my (almost) song by song first-listen reaction. It’s been a pleasure writing for ya. Hope you enjoyed.
-Bhaven