Becoming influential at the young age of 23, The Weeknd has come quite far, and is now releasing his fourth and official debut album, Kiss Land.
His R&B style leaves very little to the imagination. He brought a very erotic and experimental production with his initial House of Balloons EP, but achieved a dark, depressing tone and lyrics that loathed, but nonetheless indulged in the carnal pleasures of life. The Toronto artist presented captivating melodies and strong hooks on his first EP, only to evolve and adding much more texture and clearer tones, capturing sonic, atmospheric bliss with his later album, Echoes of Silence.
The Weeknd channels his influences and past focuses, but this world he introduces leaves something to be desired. The Weeknd’s past songs were all about sexcapades and debauchery but always noting his isolation and longing in a sinister and seedy setting. Kiss Land is now taking those sexcapades across the world and growing fame outside being a ‘somebody in a nobody town’. His growth in the music industry does not entail growth in his art. Gone are some of the memorable melodies and the experimentation that brought him much attention in the first place.
Don’t get it twisted: the production is solid and his vocal work is phenomenal.
Most of the tracks brings a clean sound with purposeful bass lines, pumping, menacing drums, and a good use of mysterious atmospheric synths. The starting track “Professional” is a fine example of this and sets the tone for the isolated and gloomy world. However, it continues for about half the album and it starts to get tedious.
This tour across the world doesn’t get any better when he brings the album’s only guest, Drake for “Live For.” Tesfaye exclaims that his lifestyle “Is the shit that I live for, with the people that I’d die for” in a sped-up weak hook before Drake delivers a single boring verse over a half-baked melody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_8Z2yQQrLA
The album finally picks up with “Wanderlust” — a track that seeks to justify his nihilistic view on love and “Belong to The World.” “Wanderlust” has the synths pick up a light, fun disco-like beat with higher pitch vocals that echoes Michael Jackson, where “Belong to the World” has a delectable, fast punching beat that brings a grimy, industrial sound in similar vein to Kanye West’s Yeezus.
“Kiss Land” also brings back his experimental sound with screams and a screwed up vocal sample that makes the layered track particularly stand-out. It proceeds to swell to a climactic second half with distorted high hats and drums that resonates to make the track memorable.
Kiss Land falls flat with the misogynistic lyrics. Lyrics speaking of unrequited love with strippers or trading sex for a moment of his fame are kind of corny: “The only thing you’re taking is your clothes off.”
Kiss Land doesn’t resonate like previous works and like his lyrics, feels rather aimless, but still worth hearing to see where he moves from here.
Carlos Meneses
Contributor
