Honestly, I don’t like Starboy. There are some stand-out moments and the gleaming production is excellent but I just find it a bit ‘meh’. There’s not that life or soul that a truly great RnB album packs, it aimed so high and fell flat on its face. What Starboy did, however, is set the groundwork for The Weeknd’s latest and greatest album, After Hours, a huge step forward for the artist and a stylistic turning point for the contemporary RnB scene.
Containing some of his most infectious choruses (no pun intended) and impactful songwriting, The Weeknd packs more depth and heart into After Hours and finally lives up to the hype that surrounds him. Darting from sexy RnB jams (‘Save Your Tears’) to 80s throwbacks (‘Blinding Lights’), synth-filled soundscapes (‘Faith’) and straight up pop tunes (‘Heartless’) - this is also perhaps his most diverse album yet and shows the artist at his most creative and agile.
On After Hours, the song writing seems darker than ever before, The Weeknd ditching his usual cocaine innuendo repertoire for far more mature and sophisticated notions of bittersweet love, loss and addiction. In terms of the lyrics, this is leagues above his previous work. It’s not all dark and gritty though. Fans will appreciate the poppier side to the album, particularly the 80s influence that adds some colour to the dark RnB aesthetic.
Pounding synthesizers and 808 kicks drive most of the instrumentals, such as the opening track ‘Alone Again,’ which sees The Weeknd lament his loneliness over a swelling bed of electronic drums and keys. Other tracks seem to fall right into the usual Weeknd wheelhouse, only more tightly executed. Take ‘Heartless’ for instance, a straight up club pop track with its pumping bass hits, twinkling synths and angelic vocals that crescendo into a booming chorus. It’s nothing new for The Weeknd (he’s been making Kuda tracks for years) but it’s more cohesive in its sound and style, more mature in its execution. Parts of the album are pop or new wave, parts RnB or electronic and there’s even a certain UK garage flavour that you can’t help but notice at times.
The production is also better than ever before, with cuts from Metro Boomin, OneOhTrix Point Never, Kevin Parker from Tame Impala and even Lizzo producer Ricky Reed are all welcome additions to the project and help to give it that varied texture. This does, however, leave the album feeling lost and confused at times - as The Weeknd doesn’t quite know how to approach each song.
The first two tracks are certainly the weakest on the track list but from ‘Hardest To Love’ onwards, it’s hard not to find something to like about each song. From the choppy instrumental of ‘Hardest To Love’ to the swirling vocals of ‘Snowchild’ and kinetic, buzzing 80s synthesizer of ‘Faith,’ After Hours has a lot of truly standout moments.
The Weeknd has long been hailed as the King of RnB and with the release of After Hours, he might just be in with a shot of taking the crown. This album sees him at his most creative, his most experimental and also his most vulnerable, combining his most polished and tightly written songs with some beautiful 80’s sheen to create his best work to date.
It’s taken 9 years but fuck me - I finally like The Weeknd.
7.5/10
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