ALBUM REVIEW - EDITOR'S CHOICE : My Two Hours Of Pain And Pleasure With Abel Tesfaye
26 August 2015
Every once in a while I purposely drop a cup and watch it shutter. I get disappointed when it fails to pick itself up and mend the broken pieces; I was going through a break up last night and just like the cup, I prefered to watch my scattered pieces on the floor. However, what was playing in background made me somehow dance in my pools of sadness and scattered pieces without getting cut.
BY R.D MUIA
Canadian singer of Ethopian descent Abel Tesfaye commonly known as The Weeknd finally released his latest album 'Beauty Behind The Madness', and I believe I was among the first to give it an ear(the race was tight but the olympics trophies in my bedroom speak volumes).
So dear reader, even in the event that you sip from a lead river, you must by now know that this was the album my ears befriended the entire of last night; the replay button must still be soar from the infinite number of times I used it. With that said, it's almost safe to say I know this album inside out, to the last DNA strand.
Let's get to business then: The album has a mere 14 songs, some which had been out for quite a while which makes them alien to only the few who live in the the dwarf black holes that exist on earth, commonly referred to as 'Ignorance'. Yes, apart from the ignorant, who knows not of 'Earned It', 'The Hills' and 'Often'?
Those are the three songs that made me feel familiar throughout the entire night as the record played. The rest, had me getting that virgin reaction I had a few years back when I discovered The Weeknd and proclaimed 'ye now becometh my favourite artist'.
Let's now dive in deeper song by another as I strive to make sure you don't sink: Immediately the first song graced my ears, swirling and dancing which immediately gave me a mental picture of what Abel was doing at the moment he wrote this piece, I knew I was enchanted!
From “Real Life” to “Angel”, the album finds Tesfaye trapped at rock bottom. And that’s where he’s erected a Xanadu, one lousy with stripper poles and mountains of coke.
On the Kanye West collaboration “Tell Your Friends”, he boasts with a knowing wink. Other moments of lyrical self-parody — see “Shameless” and “Often” — appear to be less intentional. From the start, Abel Tesfaye’s voice has recalled a more storied King of Pop. His thrilling cover of “Dirty Diana” from Echoes of Silence double-underlined the similarity. The Weeknd continues to emulate Michael Jackson so adeptly the new record often turns into a tribute. This, mind you, is no complaint.
My favorite songs on Beauty Behind the Madness channel Jackson’s ghost outright. “Can't Feel My Face” is an obvious, and excellent, example. If a Weeknd song deserves to stand atop the charts, this is it. “In the Night”, a full on post-disco number, is more slavish — and more wonderful. The opening duo “Real Life” and “Losers” modernize MJ's sound, and put Xscape to shame. “Angel”, the album closer, comes just shy of being a magnificent Jacksonian ballad.
As good as these songs are, their lyrical monotony can be punishing. It’s one thing to suffer the misogyny and hard partying of an artist who seems to be enjoying himself. But when “singing ‘bout popping pills” and “fucking bitches” and “living life so trill” sounds about as fun as a colonoscopy, you immediattely know that Alice just stepped into wonderland!
On “The Hills” Tesfaye sings, “When I'm fucked up, that's the real me.” And I believe him. I used to wonder if his anemic debauchery amounted to mere schtick, a put on. Not anymore. Beauty Behind the Madness convinces me of three things. One: The Weeknd is still capable of making great music. Two: Abel Tesfaye has constructed a gorgeous suicide note. Three: I have zero interest in witnessing another young artist’s self-implosion. Beauty Behind the Madness is Abel's eye and I now can see the abyss that is his soul.
My heart may still be aching, but now less from the break up and more from the stitching operation 'Beauty Behind The Madness' performed all night.
Now, how about a pass to this beautiful pill popping, trill life and profane filled world with one of the tracks that's creeping onto my all time favourites with each listen: 'Tell Your Friends'
WATCH
Leave your comment