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| It's a face, a dark dark face |
Album: Echoes of Silence
Artist: The Weeknd
Genre: Downtempo R&B
7.4/10
“Echoes of Silence”, but wait, silence can’t echo! How surreal.
But in all honesty the name ‘Echoes of Silence’ is an apt one for The
Weeknd’s third mixtape. The tones
and themes percolate and ripple through the lyrics, vocal delivery, and production.
Admittedly, there’s not much going on in this mixtape, but that’s
precisely the point. By cutting
out flashy synths, textbook drum beats, and rehashed R&B vocal tactics, The
Weeknd pulls off some truly harrowing and interesting songs, while leaving some
others to be consumed by the weaknesses of downtempo music. The record opens up with “D.D.”, a
cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”, and it doesn’t fail to impress. With atmospheric winds swirl, The
Weeknd begins his signature sorrowful vocal delivery. The drums come in loud with an almost tribal quality. These production elements will continue
to show up throughout the record.
“Motreal” introduces another prevalent element, group vocals. The Weeknd will sing multiple parts to
be overdubbed throughout the album, allowing the vocals to become a powerful
force. The track transitions into
the xylophone-heavy “Outside”.
‘XO/The Host” begins with what sounds eerily similar to the string
overture of A Clockwork Orange.
The drums continue to employ the same technique, forgoing a “groove” in
order to implement and more jagged style.
“Initiation” features some awesome production, meddling with the pitches
of The Weeknd’s voice to create a terrifying and harrowing atmosphere. That combined with a more
straightforward, groove-oriented beat equates to a killer song. “Same Old Song” returns to downtempo,
allowing a quiet bass line to lead the song. “The Fall” continues with this aestheic. The closer “Echoes of Silence” features
a solitary piano and an ever-so-slightly sadder delivery, perhaps to signify
the direction The Weeknd is taking musically.
When an album chooses the more reserved musical route, more focus is
diverted to the lyrics. “Montreal”
has The Weeknd shouting out to his native land in his native tongue. “Outside” tells the story of a man so
sexually frustrated that he’ll be some girl’s rebound fuck, and make sure she
never rebound fucks again: “I’ll let you show me his moves/Let you do what he
taught you/Let you reminisce how you used to do”. On most of these tracks The Weeknd forgets about poetry to
just get a message across, not dropping any “sick rhymes”. However, “XO/The Host” features a standout
lyric: “Waken up with most of ya side wet/Another room, you hear your mom cryin’/Cuz
she found your bag stuffed in the laundry/And the Bacardi from the last party”. “Same Old Song” features a very excited
Juciy J yelling about throwing around 30,000 dollars away at a strip club, a
very strong contrast to the tones presented in the rest of the record. “Echoes of Silence” ends the album with
a regretful “No. No. No. No. No.”
Overall there’s still some awesome vocal work here. The Weeknd is a more than capable
singer, and the less-is-more songwriting/production style pays off for a good
amount of the album. Some parts
had me wondering if anything was going to happen however, and there isn’t much
diversity in terms of sound. It’s
still solid. 7.4 Echoes out of 10.
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