Professional: This song is just boring! I’m sorry, I don’t feel the energy of this one. Instrumentally, it starts off interestingly, and of course, The Weeknd’s vocal talents are on full display here, but this one is just really boring, too long, and the hook is just “whatever.” Not a great start to the album, and after how many good songs there were on Abel’s final mixtape, this is definitely a step backward for him.
The Town: This one's definitely better in terms of pace than "Professional," and while it's not one of my favorite Weeknd songs, it has grown on me a bit. It’s familiar, yes, but Abel's vocals are great and the hook grew on me a lot with repeat listens. Not the best song he's ever made, but it's good.
Adaptation: This is another one I just find to be kind of boring. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I can't bring myself to really enjoy this song, and I can’t put my finger on what it is. The fact that he sampled "Bring on the Night" by The Police is interesting, and I think the instrumental is pretty interesting, but I feel like the song just isn’t that exciting to me. Not a BAD song per se, just nothing that’s worth multiple listens.
Love In The Sky: I like the way that the end of Adaptation leads into the beginning of this song, and the beat and instrumental melody is very nice. Originally, I found it kind of boring, but after a few repeat listens, I really enjoyed how dreamy and mellow it was, along with Abel's fantastic hook. I definitely slept on this in my initial review, this is a great track.
Belong To The World: The beat on this one is really cool, but I’m not entirely crazy about the hook or the verses on this one. I feel like it could end up growing on me eventually, but for right now, this one is just “whatever” to me. “Whatever” hook, “whatever” verses despite a pretty great beat.
Live For (ft. Drake): I like the fast pacing and, even if it’s repetitive, the hook is really catchy, and both Abel and featured artist Drake bring some solid performances on this song. This is the first good track on the album.
Wanderlust: I also do like this one, it’s very funky and definitely feels very Michael Jackson-esque. It’s not my favorite Weeknd song, and there are plenty of other MJ-esque songs from Abel that are way better, but this one is pretty solid.
Kiss Land: I was honestly pretty scared about this one, seeing as how it’s just over 7 minutes. And while it certainly could’ve worked, I wasn’t really vibing with this one. The instrumental is really solid, but I feel like this song is really forgettable, and while Part 2 of the song is better than Part 1, it’s hard to power through Part 1 to really enjoy Part 2. I don’t imagine I’ll want to listen to this again anytime soon.
Pretty: This one is a really enjoyable listen! I love the beat, Abel’s flow and vocals are sharp, and the song as a whole is really catchy. One of my favorite songs on the album for sure, it’ll probably get some repeat listens from me.
Tears In The Rain: This was another one I was nervous about because of the 7-minute length. I really like the beat on this one, and while it has a bit more empty space than I would like, I still do think it’s a solid listen and a decent end to the album.
Overall, The Weeknd’s first studio album has me feeling all messed up. I walked into this rather excited, especially after how strong “Echoes of Silence” was, but I think this one was a huge step back. Maybe my point of view in this review was more subjective, but quite a few songs on this album didn’t really have a ton of really strong energy. While there weren’t many really “bad” songs, quite a few of them just weren’t very interesting to me. I can legitimately say that I was disappointed in this because while it’s not a “bad” album, it’s just a bit underwhelming. It’s not the end of the world for The Weeknd, but it’s certainly not his strongest project.
Favorite tracks: The Town*, Love In The Sky*, Live For, Wanderlust*, Pretty
Least favorite track: Professional
Rating: Okay
(*An asterisk next to a “favorite track” indicates that the track wasn’t initially one of my “favorite tracks” when I first wrote the review. If a track has an asterisk next to it, it means the song wasn’t initially a favorite of mine, but it grew on me, and the text for the song may have been edited to more properly reflect that.)
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