AFTER HOURS by The Weeknd

From “she never need a man, she what a man need” to “never need a bitch, I’m what a bitch need”. From a tale of Snowchild in a mission to reach a dream to Escape From LA. The Weeknd is back to give us that specific feeling of promiscuity, loneliness, and excessiveness with his new album After Hours. It is the follow-up album of his extended play, My Dear Melancholy which was released in 2018 with Call Out My Name as the first single of the EP.

After Hours is primarily produced by The Weeknd himself with some help from other producers like Metro Boomin, DaHeala, and Ilangelo. There are several things that I noticed. The first thing that I noticed from listening this album was the change of direction that The Weeknd took. The R&B elements are still there with a little bit touch of new wave which will remind you of 80s era and back to his darker sound. The other thing that I also noticed was that he brought a new persona in this album. I have seen the visuals for this album which kind of remind me of Joker and Uncut Gems except the setting is in Las Vegas and all I see is a villain character. The last thing that I noticed was the album doesn’t have any feature artists which makes it such a rare occurrence for The Weeknd to do.

The album starts with Alone Again, the lyric is pretty much about substance abuse issue and a reminder of who he is. It could be also a hint that he is trapped between two personalities – the mainstream pop artist or the mysterious authentic artist. It slowly shifts to the next track, Too Late which talk about how he let his lover down and ask for forgiveness. Hardest to Love is more to reminisce his past relationship, then it smoothly switches to Scared to Live which discusses further about his past relationship that full with compulsion and exploitation. And then it continues to Snowchild, which talk about his background before the fame and it switches so smoothly to Escape from LA, a track about how he wanted to leave from Los Angeles because this city is not as what it seems and all his past relationships took place right here (Bella and Selena, duh!).

It continues to Heartless, which I think this is the turning point of the album. All the previous lyrics from the first half of the album are literally flipped on this track. His uncaring behavior, his previous experiences made him an insensitive person, his overindulgence act, all in one package here. Faith tells much further about his hedonism lifestyle and how he lost his religion. Blinding Light is how he is being blinded by fame and flashing lights. There is a little bit hint that his personal life is overshadowed by his fame too.  There is this deep desire of reconciliation with his ex in In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears, and After Hours, even he is trying to brainwash his ex in the interlude Repeat After Me. The Album closes with Until I Bleed Out which I thought this album would end in a positive note. I was completely wrong. The closing even shows the complete cycle of this album; how he can’t stay away from substance abuse; how he can’t keep pursuing the love he always wanted; how he will stay alone and being lonely; how he considers himself as the bad guy or the main villain for his past relationships. This song maybe puts a reference to the album cover which shows The Weeknd’s bloodied face.

From the production itself, I say this album has that rich sound which I mean literal rich. Like if Gucci ever made an album, this would be that album. I really like the new wave sounds so far, really fitting with The Weeknd’s distinctive voice. The lyrical content is so cohesive. Every song has its connections to each song. Some of the beats contradict with the lyrical. There are moments when the beat sounds so happy, out-of-place, meanwhile the lyric is so stressing and depressing.

Overall, The Weeknd at last conveys on his long-running vision, utilizing a self-hatred villain into a powerful, realistic story with his most fulfilling impact of new wave, dream pop, and R&B album so far.