Sonically, “After Hours” features electronic keyboards, flourishing synths and punchy - often dark - bass lines. But with “After Hours” The Weeknd has recorded an almost entirely ‘80s R&B dream album. On “Starboy,” he ventured into the ‘80s realm, sampling The Romantics and Tears for Fears on one track.
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“Starboy” solidified Tesfaye as a global superstar and shot him into uncharted territory sonically. He carried this strategy into his 2016 album “Starboy” - a glossy, disco-funk effort boasting collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Future, Daft Punk and Lana Del Rey. He showed his versatility by proving he could survive in the mainstream realm by incorporating a brightened sound and less overtly profound lyrics. A new approach was in order for The Weeknd with an ambitious pivot on the 2015 album “Beauty Behind the Madness” garnering massive commercial success. The newness of his self-loathing lyrics and cutting beats had grown stale. While his early blend of soulful R&B and lyrical tropes about unfulfilling drug-use and sex were fresh on his trilogy of mixtapes in 2011, his 2013 label debut “Kiss Land” proved to be a disappointment. The Weeknd has launched his next era with “After Hours,” his most self-realized album yet. It’s as if he’s spent the last four years scouring the underground music scene, creating complex synth rhythms to support his lo-fi R&B style to make his balladry feel thrilling, alive and hedonistic again.
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On his fourth studio album, “After Hours,” The Weeknd has returned to his early roots - the dark, smoky atmospheres, fragile falsettos and quiet confessions. He’s released three lo-fi R&B mixtapes, smashing pop hits like “Can’t Feel My Face” and the Daft Punk-assisted “Starboy” in 2016. Since Abel Tesfaye emerged as The Weeknd in 2011 with his moody and mesmerizing mixtape “House of Balloons,” he’s kept listeners on their toes, intentionally or not, dividing his career into chapters marked by each album’s distinctive sounds and aesthetics.