The Weeknd - Beauty Behind The Madness (Album Review)
Monday, 07 September 2015
Written by Milly McMahon
Since releasing his debut mixtape, ‘House of Balloons’, The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, has had the world waiting eagerly for each mysterious new collection. Keeping details of his personal life and music watertight, while harmonising on the subjects of drugs, sex and all things between, his ability to write music to entice and instigate some murky menage-a-trois may appear shocking as a concept, but his tones are seductive beyond compare.
Choosing to showcase his new material sparingly, live shows are select and interviews barely exist. So the mystery grows. Now that it’s in our grasp, though, we can see that ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’ incorporates a wider range of harmonies, melodies and slick instrumentation than its predecessors.
Elevating his sound beyond R&B and embracing more distorted musical territories, he scatters the predictable formula previous tracks have followed to enter slowly unwinding, experimental realms.
Love song Shameless hones in on his vast range, delivering scales to a simple backing beat. Romance, with heartfelt sentiments, focuses Tesfaye on deeper emotions, compared to the compulsive physicality his lyrics often depict.
The Fifty Shades Of Grey lead single, Earned It, stands out, reflecting the drama captured from beginning to end on the album. In The Night revisits old aesthetics, with Kandinsky-like electronic synths, telling tales of worshipping a tragic model who dances for money and leaves a man’s bed before morning.
Collaborating with Ed Sheeran on Dark Times, the two vocalists come together beautifully. Strong a cappellas depict bluesy sadness. The lyrics: “In my dark times. I'll be going back to the street. Promising everything I do not mean. In my dark times, baby this is all I could be. Only my mother could love me for me.” This is a truly complementary duet.
Prisoner talks of tragedy once more. From a female perspective the delectable Lana Del Rey sings about destiny and detainment. Another strong moment on the record, the track is ambitious enough to win over audiences from both artists’ fan bases. The wistful wonderment of the song echoes like a memory from a dream, but the soft rock backing arrangement of closer Angel weakens the lasting impact of the album’s strong vocals.
‘Beauty Behind The Madness’ is music for arena sized consumption. However, only time will tell how the transition to more polished and auto-tuned productions will play against the original, immoral mixtape releases that resulted in Tesfaye being beloved by so many.
The Weeknd Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Fri September 18 2015 - LAS VEGAS Nevada - Drais Beachclub and Nightclub (USA)
Tue November 03 2015 - TORONTO ON - Air Canada Centre (Canada)
Thu November 05 2015 - TORONTO ON - Air Canada Centre (Canada)
Fri November 06 2015 - CHICAGO Illinois - United Center (USA)
Sat November 07 2015 - AUBURN HILLS Michigan - Palace Of Auburn Hills (USA)
Wed November 11 2015 - NEWARK New Jersey - Prudential Center (USA)
Thu November 12 2015 - WORCESTER Massachusetts - DCU Center (USA)
Sat November 14 2015 - UNCASVILLE Connecticut - Mohegan Sun Arena-CT (USA)
Sun November 15 2015 - WASHINGTON District of Columbia - Verizon Center (USA)
Mon November 16 2015 - NEW YORK New York - Madison Square Garden (USA)
Wed November 18 2015 - BROOKLYN New York - Barclays Center (USA)
Tue November 24 2015 - MONTREAL QC - Bell Centre (Canada)
Fri November 27 2015 - WINNIPEG MB - MTS Centre (Manitoba) (Canada)
Sun November 29 2015 - CALGARY AB - Scotiabank Saddledome (Canada)
Mon November 30 2015 - EDMONTON AB - Rexall Place (Canada)
Wed December 02 2015 - VANCOUVER BC - Rogers Arena (Canada)
Sat December 05 2015 - OAKLAND California - Oracle Arena (USA)
Sun December 06 2015 - SAN JOSE California - SAP Center (USA)
Tue December 08 2015 - LOS ANGELES California - L.A. Forum (USA)
Wed December 09 2015 - LOS ANGELES California - L.A. Forum (USA)
Sun December 13 2015 - HOUSTON Texas - Toyota Center - TX (USA)
Tue December 15 2015 - ATLANTA Georgia - Philips Arena (USA)
Thu December 17 2015 - TAMPA Florida - Amalie Arena (USA)
Sat December 19 2015 - MIAMI Florida - American Airlines Arena - FL (USA)
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