The Weeknd
“Kiss Land/John Carpenter”
Kiss Land (out this year on XO/Republic)
@HowToDressWell 17 May: dude this guy from the weeknd is taking a ton of drugs and seems really homesick i hope he’s ok tho
This tweet from How to Dress Well’s Tom Krell about sums up the lyrical content of the dubiously-named title track from Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s insanely-awaited proper debut album. However, it doesn’t begin to sum up the majesty of the Canadian’s harrowing, 8-minute gem. Simply put, it’s the best thing he’s released since his breakthrough mixtape, House of Balloons, ending a 12-month run of listless singles and anonymous features, which felt like the work of a spent force. Even looking back at his three 2011 mixtapes, you could feel him tiring, culminating with a string of lifeless new tracks released last year.
That said, Tesfaye sounds rejuvenated here, bringing back the fun and sexiness of his early work. He clearly sees himself as a tortured artist, but make no mistake, his songs need to stay fun and sexy. Or else, his eye-rolling woe-is-me’s (“I don’t got any friends”) and extreme misogyny/ughhhhh innuendos (“You can meet me in the room where the kisses ain’t free. /You gotta pay with your body”) are simply insurmountable. His tracks are always going to be problematic, but when he strikes a balance (like here), he can be beguilingly brilliant.
