The Weeknd is back bay-bee!

I say that like he actually had been absent from the charts for the past 2 years, but in reality, he has been in the charts for a solid 2 years at this point, what with the combined forces of Blinding Lights and Save Your Tears. In fact, I’m curious to see if the latter reappears on the charts once the Christmas songs go back into hibernation (after taking so long to write this script, Save Your Tears is still in the top 20 as we speak). That’s enough with the rambling, let us get started with a more consistent* year of reviews!

*Post completion note: school has had other plans regarding that idea

The Weeknd has gone retro sonically with his new album Dawn FM. I already discussed my theories on why we are seeing such a resurgence in disco-esque music, but I would like to add onto that theory. Instead, we are seeing a resurgence of many nostalgic genres that have been absent from mainstream music. From Olivia Rodrigo’s interpretation of pop-punk to Silk Sonic and their soulful bossa-novas, and even Dua Lipa, Elton John, and PNAU with a borderline electronic-house hit, we have witnessed multiple genres re-emerging in popularity. The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) took a jab at reinventing something halfway between disco and 1980s flash hits. While I’m extremely tempted just to do a review of a single song, a full album review is necessary to discuss the influences, themes, and execution. So sit back, tune your radio to 103.5 Dawn FM (or Z103.5 if you live in the Toronto area like me), and let us dive into the world where life and the afterlife have blurred borders!

Dawn FM (the intro, not the album)

Opening Dawn FM is an introduction track titled… Dawn FM. It has some synths here, some vaporous vocals from Abel there, and an introduction to our disc jockey-guide, who is none other than Canada’s own Jim Carrey (only the second strangest appearance from him in the past month. #1 goes to his VGA appearance). While intro/intermission/outro tracks often don’t add to the individual listening experiences, as most listeners of The Weeknd look for, Dawn FM helps set the tone for a proper album experience. It sets the themes of transitioning from the darkness of life to the dawn of the afterlife. That salting of the night/dawn/death metaphor is HEAVY on the dish of Dawn FM. As a few immediate examples, the subsequent track Gasoline opens with Its 5 AM my time again and even the eponymous lyrics from the single Take My Breath could be interpreted as dying in the most exhilarating way possible. While its overall footprint on the album is minimal, it is something worthwhile to pay attention to.

Gasoline

Moving on to some actual music, we find ourselves at Gasoline (alternatively titled “Petrol” in European countries). As an album “opener”, Gasoline edges towards the low-key tones and drum beats. It also edges towards the previously mentioned influence of the 80s, when a new wave took hold of the minds of the general listeners. If I were to list specific artists, I would have to pick somewhere between the low bass tones of New Order and the quirky drum machine and vocal style of Devo. In terms of enjoyability, I would not be surprised if Gasoline ends up as a sleeper hit of sorts. The low tones really wormed their way into my mind on relistens, and even some solid lyric development from verse to verse. That subtle switch between It’s five AM my time again/ I’m high again/ I’m nihilist, which signals a subtle shift between the ideas of realization. The ideas go from satisfying the heart’s desires, a more selfish tone, to the desire to be coincided to oblivion due to his nihilistic approach to life, both spiritually and physically, hence why Abel specifies to wrap my body in these sheets, and pour out the gasoline. Gasoline reveals the start of some of the darker subject matter we find on the rest of Dawn FM, especially along the lines of masochism, selfishness, and despair.

How Do I Make You Love Me

Moving on, we find ourselves with the same drum machine used in Gasoline utilized on How Do I Make You Love Me (HDIMYLM for short). HDIMYLM is a bit of a bait and switch in my opinion. It opens with lower notes, then switches rather abruptly during the chorus, something that reminds me a bit of Axwell ^ Ingrosso. This style just cripples the momentum of what could have been another dance banger or low-key ballad. Instead, it ends up as something that can’t decide whether it wants to be another Blinding Lights or just another Worth It. Calling it a song is a bit of an overstatement. Once we hit the 2:30 mark, it moves into a transition period so it bleeds into the next song perfectly. This is the only pair of songs on this album which do this, which tells me something about the next song on the list which is…

TAKE MY BREATH!

I apologize for my spastic outburst of song, but this song is quite the disco synth banger. I have already discussed this song in full on my Instagram page @jamming_with_dave, so feel free to check it out. What has changed is the pacing. The single version of Take My Breath is a full 2 minutes shorter than the album version, which becomes apparent after how much the single version got played on the radio (blame Canadian radio laws for that one). The album version includes extended beat solos, just ripe for remixing. Most of what I want to say about Take My Breath has already been said before, but now we also have a much larger picture of the overall themes of the album. The bodily desires of sudden death slightly adjust the lens with which we look at Take My Breath. I now view the phrase “take my breath” just a little more literally with the context of the album.

Sacrifice

After that coke trip that was Take My Breath, Abel did the sensible thing as give us something toned back by a hair. Sacrifice is my pick for the song with the most untapped potential. A bit of adjusted mixing here, maybe swap out some lyrics there, and I bet Sacrifice could have been the next Starboy. I absolutely love the funky guitar riff and Abel’s Micheal Jackson impersonation greatly, but some of the lyrics and mixing just rubs me the wrong way. Heck, even a guitar breakdown towards the end could have sent this song into the stratosphere. Yet, here we are, with strange hooks and off mixing.

Editor’s Note:  Abel opens this song with the line I was born in a city where the winter nights don’t ever sleep. As someone who has been in Toronto (the place where Abel was born and raised) late at night during the winter, I think he plays it up just a smidge.

A Tale By Quincy

On our music train ride, we now have reached another intermission by the title A Take By Quincy. In the same vein as Dawn FM (the intro, not the album), this intermission helps us with context. In Sacrifice, Abel mentions about not getting romantically attached to his lovers. In fact, he tries to play up his “broken playboy” status in a lot of his other music. A Tale By Quincy applies another new perspective, for better or worse. On one hand, I have sympathy for our narrator (who is neither Jim nor Able by the way), but on the other, I feel like this should have been placed later in the album, as there are songs later on that Abel uses to play himself up once again as the “broken playboy” type. I enjoy the story given to us by Quincy, but it just seems slightly out of place in the album’s narrative.  

Out Of Time

     While HDIMYLM and Take My Breath share the only song-to-song transition, A Tale By Quincy also bleeds into our next point of discussion, Out Of Time (it’s an intermission-to-song bleed, therefore my statement is still technically accurate). It is here that Abel truly shows his MJ influence. A ballad peppered by soft horns, rhythm guitars, and what sounds to me like the same drum machine heard throughout the previous entries, I can easily hear MJ singing this on Thriller. Lyrically, Out Of Time is about saying “I love you” just a little too late for it to truly matter. Presumably, if I am following the story correctly, this subject of his advance is the same woman in Sacrifice, whereas he brushed off her intimacy for just a little too long, and now in Out Of Time he finally feels the repercussions of his actions. Now, Abel knows exactly what it feels like to have a relationship without any warmth. 

Editor’s note: I said earlier that there were only two songs that bleed into each other. Out of Time technically fades out and the next song fades in. I still retain that opinion on a technicality.

Here We Go… Again

It is at this stage in typing that I truly realize just how long this album actually is. Nearly two and a half pages in and there is still half an album to go. Considering my typing habits, it is ironic that I restart my reviewing binge with Here We Go… Again.

Beyond its hipster naming scheme, Here We Go … Again rounds out the last few songs quite well. Going from the context of A Tale By Quincy to the coming to terms of Out of Time, Here We Go… Again takes that somber reflection theme and runs with it. However, on closer inspection, the lyrical content really doesn’t mesh with the rest of the album. It’s a literal self-reflection, with a hint of diss. The soft keyboard and harmonies made me think that this was going to be something of a post-breakup ending to Out of Time. But in reality… it’s reality. I’m conflicted on what to think of this. On one hand, it breaks the immersion of the rest of the album, but on the other, I want to dig deeper into the interpersonal conflicts that led to lines like your girlfriend’s tryna pair you with somebody more famous /But instead you ended up with someone so basic, faceless. I want to know who Abel is talking about and what incident led to this songwriting. But, I will only look at Genius AFTER I’m finished writing purely on principle. There is also a Tyler, The Creator verse, which gives me some real RUNITUP vibes from his flow and backing hype crew. The lyrical content made me search for more meaning behind Abel’s words, which I must give points to. Relistenability helps with the longevity of an album, and it’s songs like this that will help people take second glances at other songs they might have overlooked. A+ for content, B- for execution in my opinion.

Best Friends

     We have now arrived at another tone shift with Best Friends. On one hand, I find the idea that Abel is friend-with-benefits zoning some girl as quaint and humorous, but on the other, it makes my skin crawl. The few redeeming qualities are as follows; the performance, production, and the unintentional comedy of the entire premise. Best Friends is assumably about the girl Abel has been talking about in Out of Time, but at this point, this girl should be with another man if we go off of the album timeline. However, this song paints it as if they stayed close after the events of Out Of Time, which means either the timeline doesn’t matter, or there was some character development between these two songs that was completely bypassed in favour of retrospect in Here We Go… Again. 

    Best Friends is quite a low point in Dawn FM, and puts the true heights of the rest of it in perspective. Don’t get me wrong, Take My Breath, those little intermissions with Jim and other speakers, and some songs I have yet to talk about are all great in their own regard, but once you add up the flaws of Dawn FM, apprehensive feelings become vindicated. Side note, that Dawn FM outro might be the best part about this song. The beat loop followed by the stutter into our next song is just like *chefs kiss*.

Is There Someone Else?

     Tuning into our next entry, Is There Someone Else? (ITSE for short), and I am starting to suspect that song titles are closer to one-liners than actual sentences. The production and instrumentals are actually solid, if not a bit boring. I do have an issue with that chipmunked sample in the opening. Reminds me a little too much of pop hits from the early 2010s.

 On the roller-coaster that is whatever relationship Abel is experiencing in the storyline of Dawn FM we now arrive at confusion. Confusing not only for Abel but for the listener. Why does he have issues with his “friend with benefits” finding someone else, when he specifically rejected her advances in Best Friends?  I can get that he wants to avoid hurting this other dude or himself in this process (see lines like If you’re hurting him, or you’re hurting me), but isn’t the entire concept around “friends with benefits” the lack of physical or emotional commitment? At least Abel has the vocals and production to back up lacklustre lyrical content.

It is at this point that I admit I was wrong with the previous statement I made regarding the song-bleed method. There are in fact quite a few of those used, and ITSE has probably one of the smoothest, and I am just too lazy to go back and change them all (I’m committed to the bit at this point). I in all honesty didn’t notice when it switched between songs, which brings me to another point. Why not splice the two together? That could have spruced up what is otherwise a generic structuring used.

Starry Eyes

We now arrive at the shortest “track” on the album. Starry Eyes starts where ITSE leaves off, complete with the bleed. Calling Starry Eyes a track is quite a generous designation, as it’s missing a proper verse structure, bridges, and corus that it just ends up as a glorified beat switch to ITSE. At least Starry Eyes builds on the plot. It acts as a crescendo of sorts, bringing up the true emotions and feelings surrounding this relationship. However, Abel begging to help her in this situation can be perceived almost as manipulation.

As much as I wanted Starry Eyes to be a cathartic release, in reality, it’s just a whole lot of begging and guilt-tripping. This could have just been tacked onto ITSE and I could have just brushed it off. But, it is its own track, and we have to listen to it not only in the plotline but also in a vacuum. Sounds beautiful, but just like the other tracks, the lyrics are just lacklustre.

Every Angel Is Terrifying

     I swear they must have let The Kid LAROI name this one cause MAN that title is edgy. Every Angel Is Terrifying (EAIT for short) acts as another intermission (a quatermission?), which opens almost like a televangelist service. I would have actually liked to see Starry Eyes bleed into EAIT, as I could see Starry Eyes being built as some sort of “hymn”.  The juxtaposition between the pseudo-church service and the commercial for the After Life subscription service serves as a description of what Dawn FM really is talking about overall; the afterlife as a paid service of sorts. It builds on lore and the storyline, so even as a quatermission it still gets a passing grade for the sheer intrigue of it.

Also of note, the Arthur Flemminger name drop is a reference to an old 90s animated sitcom by the name of The Critic, and Nigel and Frank is…  a Microsoft Recruitment tool? You know what, I’m not going to think too hard about that one.

Don’t Break My Heart

    I will preface this track by stating that just because a song has simple writing, does not mean that it is lacklustre. Sometimes settling on boring is better than nothing (looking at you, Mr. Blunt).

Don’t Break My Heart (DBMH) is the start of a rather solid grouping of tracks. Now we have reached the point where I suspect Abel is trying to get over his previous “best friend” by picking up other women at clubs. It is at this point that either Abel lowers his standards considerably, or he has already developed a significant connection with this new woman. This all depends on how long he has known this new woman, and I REALLY hope that he has known her for a while at this point. That would help his case out by not painting himself as a blubbering, hopeless romantic. 

Sonically, DBMH leans on the darker tones outlined previously by tracks like Gasoline and EAIT. Whatever drum machine they have been using must have had a lot of miles put onto it considering how obvious it has been over the entire album. I find EAIT rather pleasant to listen to at least. I find Abel usually performs better on tracks with the darker subject matter. I guess I’m just a sucker for anyone that uses the word discotheque in a song (also see; Giorgio by Moroder).

I Heard You’re Married

Next up on our features list is… Lil Wayne? Yes, he is indeed back for potentially my favourite verse from him on I Heard You’re Married Girl (IHYMG). What I mean by “favourite” is more “autotuned and set to the background enough to give a passing grade”. Still only the second strangest feature on this album.

Back on track, IHYMG adds additional character development to both this new girl and Abel. This girl he’s infatuated with is surrounded by rumours that she’s actually married if it wasn’t obvious by the song title. She’s promiscuous, and Abel ain’t having any of that nonsense. He also brings up some valid points, if she’s just gonna cheat, why even stay married? On one hand, at least Abel has his priorities straight. Mutual commitment from both parties. What I wished Abel leaned on was her faults, because it makes it sound like it’s just about him. Tacking on a feature raises some questions. Are Abel and Wayne supposed to be the same person, or two different people courting this same person? Why don’t they just team up as The Broken Hearts, marauding around to prevent other guys from ending up in similar situations? These are all hypothetical situations of course, so how does Wayne handle his verse?

NOT VERY WELL. Too much detail without any charm, complete with… death threats? I thought that chronic cheaters were off-limits, but it sounds like Wayne would rather shove the husband out of this woman’s life and effectively replace him. This goes against what the narrative has been all along, the protagonist getting burned by lovers by either missing the signs or getting too close. But Wayne is just simping over this woman, and this scenario is just BEGGING to blow up in his face if that’s what he wants to do. At least Abel can get away with only the minor case of emotional damage and broken-heart syndrome. This song would have been better without the Wayne verse, and replace it with some outro or lead up to our final full track on this album.

 Less Than Zero

    We finally arrive at our second-last stop on our 16-track tour of Dawn FM. Less Than Zero was my original inspiration to write this review, but couldn’t justify just taking a look at just itself. Some songs are just better (or worse) within the context of an album, and I would not have asked for a better “closer” than this song. Soft and vulnerable, Abel lays all his regrets bare to us, and in turn, realizes how his regrets are holding him back from finding true love. So instead of the futile attempts at meaningful relationships, he now lets it all go for personal freedom. I’ve had my criticisms about how the story is laid out over the course of the album, but at least we can cap it off with Abel finding peace with himself, despite losing what he desired in the first place.

Instrumentally, Less Than Zero stands out for softer synths and is more melodic than most of the previous tracks. Those little staircase-keyboard riffs really do something for me while listening. I would appreciate a little deviation from the standard vocal style for Less Than Zero, or for any track for that matter. Play around with stutters or learn more on the synths, just do SOMETHING to make it stand out. Also, for all things holy PLEASE change up the tempo a bit. I guess that has been an issue all along, but before we close out this review, there is one final “track” on our tour-de-Weeknd…

Phantom Regret by Jim

    And finally, we reach our closer, with one last monologue from our boy Dr. Eggman himself. Monologues are much more interesting to listen to if they’re accompanied by some sort of instrumental. Thankfully, Jim is backed up by some melancholic keyboard and Abel on distance vocals. But an outro does not survive off of pretty sounds alone but on the entire lexicon available to the speaker. Jim pours over some final thoughts, often reflecting on what one may take to the grave or leave behind in the wake of their passing. These could be thoughts of the experiences lived or even the bitterness left behind with others. The idea that negative emotions live on beyond death is somewhat backed up by human psychology. We remember negative experiences much more clearly than the positive, hence why embarrassing moments crop up at the WORST possible moments. I like the theming here since it addresses the feelings of release from Less than Zero. However, my immersion is broken abruptly by my own humour. For example, why does Jim mention T-rex’s Bang a Gong, and for what reason does use “boogaloo” as a noun, or at all for the matter? In the end, Phantom Regret serves as a capstone, not just to Dawn FM, but to the end of life of Abel’s character.

In Conclusion

     Dawn FM has some high points, but I find it’s dragged down by how mundane some portions of the album are. More could have been done with the retro style laid out by Take My Breath, The storyline needed to be a bit more coherent, and maybe they could have brought in a different drum machine to give some tracks a more unique feel to them. Don’t let my criticisms detract you, you lovely reader, from listening to Dawn FM. Some topics addressed were quite interesting, and the connections between life/death/dawn were all there and ready to be digested by the listener. In the end, a little more time playing around with the lyrics and instrumentals would have helped Dawn FM. We could have waited a bit for this to come out since we apparently are still listening to After Hours.

6.5/10

And please stop making me create acronyms for the track titles, just one or two words is enough to get the point across.