Send "The Weeknd " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 It sounds a bit ridiculous to say that the Weeknd avoid the sophomore slump with Thursday, given that the Toronto crew's first release arrived just five months ago. But not many artists, especially in the Internet era, show up with such a well-developed aesthetic (a very foggy, of-the-moment variation on mainstream radio's slow jams) and something as self-assured as the House of Balloons mixtape. And those that do probably don't have a Drake co-sign and such a carefully managed cloak of anonymity. Months later, all we really know about the Weeknd is that there's a singer named Abel Tesfaye with an earthy The-Dream-like voice and a lecherous persona that's both repellent and compelling. We've seen a few smoky, black and white photos disseminated via Tumblr that perfectly fit the music's bad vibes; there have been a couple of live dates; and apparently, the project has two associated producers helping to craft a sprawling, drugged-up R&B sound: Doc McKinney, best known for Esthero's Breath From Another and another guy named Illangelo. Beyond that and a handful of "unofficial" but suspiciously high-budget videos, we have the music on these two mixtapes.Though there's less breathing space on Thursday, and fewer melodic hooks, it still feels of a piece with House of Balloons. There's the same ineffably skeezy vibe and a genuine sense of the album-as-journey, brought upon by smart sequencing and Tesfaye's willingness to complicate his devilish, drug-addled Lothario persona. The production is slightly harsher and streaked with violence, befitting the lyrical content-- "Life of the Party", the best and most disturbing song here, is based around doom-like guitar riffs that suggest something truly terrible about to happen. The guitars burst forth during Tesfaye's mocking chorus ("you're the life of the party"), sung as he casually convinces a girl into a group-sex situation. Other songs are tinged with similarly abrasive sounds: drill'n'bass noises rattle around in the background of opening track "Lonely Star"; "Rolling Stone" begins with a blustery chunk of heavily processed guitar; and the final track, "Heaven or Las Vegas" (not a Cocteau Twins cover) features a late-song interruption by screeching effects and heavy echo. For contrast , the only jarring touch to the production on the fairly one-note House of Balloons is the title track's Siouxsie and the Banshees sample. So the world here, in addition to being more sonically varied, feels just a little darker and a little more dangerous....full text |
| Bbc |
| Earlier this year, Canadian singer The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfay) became a ‘net sensation when his House of Balloons mixtape attracted the support of rapper Drake and highly positive reviews across the music press – stateside site Pitchfork compared its spectral qualities to The xx’s Mercury-winning debut. At the time of writing, it’s on the shortlist for the Polaris Prize, essentially the Canadian Mercury Prize. But rather than simply reaping the rewards of his blogosphere breakthrough, Tesfay has pressed on with the second of a proposed trio of mixtapes in 2011; on the schedule for later this year is part three, Echoes of Silence. Thursday again captures the artist amid woozy RnB bumpers and skeletal soul backgrounds, plus a couple of raucous almost-rockers, but perhaps lacks the sparkle that made House of Balloons so immediately satisfying. Thursday racked up 180,000 (free) downloads on its first day online (a Thursday, naturally) – a remarkable achievement for an artist who’s still an underground attraction. But wider audiences are evidently beckoning, as here he’s joined by early supporter Drake on The Zone. Admittedly it’s something of a tacked-on guest turn, but nevertheless: the Thank Me Later star’s presence is sure to alert many more admirers to Tesfay’s cause. What’s missing, though, is the same level of instant appeal that certain first-collection numbers possessed – the closest this set comes to immediate impact is on The Birds Part 1, a drums-heavy centrepiece which finds our protagonist at his fullest of voice, and guitars-at-11 offering Life of the Party. But perhaps this set is closer to the true Tesfay, as recognisable samples (Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshees last time) are exchanged for wholly original compositions – of the nine tracks only one, The Birds Part 2, leans on a prior arrangement for support: Martina Topley-Bird’s Sandpaper Kisses. Closer Heaven or Las Vegas strays from familiar waters, a reggae lilt lending the piece unexpected buoyancy....full text |
| Theeastsideperspective |
| And with time running out on the shot clock in the 4th quarter, The Weeknd alley-oops Thursday to the world right before the buzzer hit on Friday. You can say that he dropped this out of no where and then he tweeted “f**k… it’s finally Thursday”. And like that the anticipation for this grew sky high, everyone wondering whether he would drop it or not. Well he did release it and managed to even crash his own website. If Thursday has the same kind of success that House of Balloons had (one of the best projects of the entire year), then it could propel The Weeknd into stardom and solidify him as one of the most talented musicians today, period. I don’t know if it’s even possible for me to build any more hype for this project, it’s already sky high. So without further adieu check out the review of The Weeknd’s Thursday + stream and download below! 1: Lonely Star 4.5/5 Right off the bat to me this felt like High for This Part 2. It has that same rock-ish feel that slowly build up over the course of the song. The beat is filled with guitar riffs and a deep bass making for a killer beat for Abel to lay down his sick vocals on. I think he needed a strong opening record to prove to people that his first effort was no fluke. This is an excellent opener for The Weeknd and it sets the groundwork perfectly for the rest of the album. 2: Life of the Party 5/5 This is without a doubt one of my favorite beats that The Weeknd has worked his magic over. It has a monster bass that will make you glad you spent the extra coin to get the top-of-the-line headphones, if you didn’t well then you’re missing out. The lyrics on here are the same as any Weeknd song; party’s, alcohol, girls, ect. The thing I find intriguing about this song is that Abel almost seems to half sing/half rap his verses and it makes for an amazing second track from the Canadian singer. 3: Thursday 4/5 This record starts off in an almost eerie tone. Making you feel like you’re lost in a dream and just floating through space. He manages to keep up that feeling throughout the entire song, just toned down a little. It makes for a great effect that I would love to see The Weeknd incorporate more in his songs. While this isn’t the strongest song on the project, it’s not bad by any means. 4: The Zone (feat. Drake) 5/5 If you’ve been wondering what Drake and The Weeknd have been cooking up recently, then this is your first taste. The beat starts off eerie and then slowly progresses into one that sounds like a classic Abel beat. His sings for the first five minutes and then hands the mic off to Drake. Coming into this track I wasn’t sure if Drake was going to do his singing thing or spit some bars, I was hoping for rapping because he had The Weeknd to hold down the singing. To my pleasure, and I’m pretty sure most of yours, Drake decided to rap. And wow did he kill his verse. His flow was on point and some of the best I’ve seen from the Toronto emcee. With many expected Weeknd features on Take Care, if this is what is in store, then we are in for a classic....full text |
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