The Weeknd – House of Balloons
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For an R&B group who project a stoic indifference to the waves of drugs, women, and pleasure coming their way, The Weeknd sure put a lot of effort into telling you about it. From their website to Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter accounts, these young dudes want you to know just how world-weary they are. Likewise, you’re supposed to know that they sample Siouxsie and Beach House, that they dig Cocteau Twins as well as Drake and Diddy. Thing is, these guys are worth listening to not for the names they drop or the company they court, but for their original tunes. (For more on their reception, check out my thoughts in the words section; for downloads, see below.)
I’m all for sampling if it’s done creatively, but it’s telling that The Weeknd’s best songs are the least derivative. “What You Need” creeps in with a supersaturated slump of percussion, echo teased out to max, as singer Abel Tesfaye calls himself something you shouldn’t want but that you need. It’s a nice twist—usually the seducer appeals to your desire, not your necessities—and it maybe says something about The Weeknd’s concept of morality. With its delirious swoon, “Coming Down” is even more noir, Tesfaye almost begging for contact during his high’s downswing. (Can’t help but hear another reference in the liquid chorus here.) But the songs that directly sample indie acts don’t fare as well. The title track samples Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Happy House,” but the guitar sounds too spindly, especially compared to the more natural guitar elsewhere on the album. (And chalk it up to timing, but when I hear “Fun fun fun fun” I can’t help but think Rebecca Black.) Another song samples, of all things, Beach House’s “Master of None.”
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(It’s no shock that “Master of None” is becoming something of an indie standard. The fifth track on Beach House’s 2006 debut, it’s a song of poise and power, the 0ne you sing when the bruises are almost gone, a knowing indictment in the tradition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” or Joni Mitchell’s “Last Time I Saw Richard.” I’ll never forget the dawning surprise when I heard the opening chords of Toro y Moi’s cover as the last track on Toro y Moi’s My Touch. On “The Party & the After Party,” The Weeknd don’t do much justice to the original, speeding up the ethereal guitar and Victoria Legrand’s voice till they both sound tinny. But in the extended afterparty digression, he does a good job of playing the cad and showing things from his side: “They don’t want my love/they just want my—and he doesn’t reference money here, it wouldn’t ring true—potential…” )
The mixtape has seen a chopped treatment from OG Ron and the Chop Stars, and a screwed set by Odd Future’s Mike G. But sped up or sped down, the Weeknd don’t sound quite right. They put a lot of care into the cavernous echo space of House of Balloons, and it gets muddy with all the handling. But you’ve got all three below to make up your own mind.
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The Weeknd – House of Balloons mixtape
The Weeknd – House of Balloons (Screwed by Mike G.)
The Weeknd – House of Balloons (Chopped Not Slopped by OG Ron and the Chop Stars)
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