Album Review: The Weeknd – After Hours

The Weeknd – After Hours
(XO / Republic Records)

Reviewed by Sam Smith.

After ten years in the music game, R&B prince The Weeknd is back with another project and this time he has brought his darker side to proceedings.

After Hours is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye’s fourth studio album and his first full length release since his 2016 smash Starboy, an album which saw him rise to the top of the charts with an infectious brand of pop and at times gloomy R&B.

The aesthetic for this new project is different from Starboy however, and it starts straight away with the album art. The cover is a bold statement and features a shot of The Weeknd’s bloodied face inspired by various films including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Joker in what will be hard to beat as the album cover of the year.

Musically, After Hours is also very different from Starboy; first off, there are no featured guests, and stylistically the songs are very much inspired by 70s and 80s darkwave, with moody synths, dramatic instrumentation, and an overall undertone of sorrow and sadness dominating across the fourteen tracks. Let’s just say thematically this album is a far cry from the braggadocios and confident like nature of Starboy.

Despite the overall mood, After Hours still makes for an interesting listen and as a project contains some of The Weeknd’s finest moments on record. ‘Scared to Love’ is a soulful ballad of immense beauty that captures Abel at his majestic best vocally, while ‘Heartless’ is a gothic pop bop featuring driving 808 beats.

The 80s influences are also strong on After Hours, with the single ‘Blinding Lights’ a Soft Cell-esque exercise in synth-pop, while ‘In Your Eyes’ conjures up New Order comparisons in what is probably the track that comes closest to the material that featured on Starboy.

Despite all this, it is the title track which is the number one highlight and centre point of the album. ‘After Hours’, is arguably the best track The Weeknd has ever recorded, beginning as a Phil Collins ‘In the Air Tonight’-type ballad before turning into this drum machine and synth-driven extravaganza. This track exemplifies what pop should be and is one of the songs of 2020 so far.

On the whole, with After Hours, The Weeknd might just have produced his best studio album yet. Known as a bit of a mixtape king, he has at times struggled with the album format, but on here he manages to combine slick production with a top-notch vocal performance full of power and emotion that translates into a solid album.

Yes, there are lesser moments that transcend into not very memorable filler tracks. However, despite this, the big moments soar and this is enough to offset any moments where the album feels like it is sliding. All up, After Hours is a great return from an artist who knows his strengths and plays to them well.

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