The Weeknd | House of Balloons

Self-release (2011)
By CARRIE BATTAN  |  April 27, 2011
3.5 3.5 Stars

wk main
If there were a graph whose X-axis charted a super-slick, blog-buzz-fueled indie æsthetic and whose Y-axis charted the elements of commercial R&B, the Weeknd would find itself in the farthest reaches of the upper-right-hand quadrant. A cosign from Drake, cover art that would fit in among the raciest of American Apparel ads, pitch-perfectly sultry pipes that hover somewhere between a young Michael Jackson and the Dream, a sleek Tumblr, samples taken from Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshees — the young Canadian behind this mystery mixtape, Abel Tesfaye, has rolled all of these things into one giant ball of hype that's gotten people eating out of the palm of his hand in a matter of weeks. He has more than flimsy trendmonger bait to keep them coming back, though: House of Balloons is a gorgeous album that pairs moody beats and samples with morbid lines about drugs and late-night encounters, all of it caulked with sex. "The only girls that we fuck with seem to have 20 different pills in them. . . . Rehearse lies to them, and then we fuck faces," Tesfaye sings on "Loft Music" over a sampled version of Beach House's "Gila." It's jaded, arrogant talk coming from a 20-year-old, but that's what it takes to pull off House of Balloon's ambitious gimmicks.
Related: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears | Scandalous, Yelle | Safari Disco Club, The Sounds | Something To Die For, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, New Music, reviews,  More more >
| More

Most Popular
Blogs
 More: Phlog  |  Music  |  Film  |  Books  |  Politics  |  Media  |  Election '08  |  Free Speech  |  All Blogs
ARTICLES BY CARRIE BATTAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   MAIN ATTRAKIONZ | 808S AND DARK GRAPES II  |  September 07, 2011
    Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.
  •   LIL B | I'M GAY (I'M HAPPY)  |  July 19, 2011
    Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.
  •   SHABAZZ PALACES | BLACK UP  |  June 09, 2011
    The musical reincarnation of Ishmael Butler, the elusive Seattle rapper who makes up one-third of the semi-popular '90s jazz-rap act Digable Planets under the name Butterfly, is a lot to unpack.
  •   FRIENDLY FIRES | PALA  |  June 07, 2011
    For a densely layered, expertly produced dance-rock album, this second full-length from British three-piece Friendly Fires is perplexingly bland.
  •   THE WEEKND | HOUSE OF BALLOONS  |  April 27, 2011
    Self-release (2011)

 See all articles by: CARRIE BATTAN

LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows