Review: The Weeknd

Review: The Weeknd

Cat Weber Sanguinetti, Staff writer

New

Artist: The Weeknd

Album: Dawn FM

Release date: Jan 7, 2022

Genre: Dance-pop, Synth-pop

Rating: ★★★½

Favorite song: “Gasoline”

DawnFM is The Weeknd’s 5th album and can be characterized as an abstract piece about the nostalgia of radio retro-pop. It’s heavily influenced by 80s electronic and disco and uses a lot of synth.

Speaking to Billboard, The Weeknd said, “Who knows what the next one is going to sound like? When it comes to my albums, there is a cohesive sound going on, but I can’t really stick to one style. So you’ll hear EDM, hip-hop and three other types of sounds in one song – and somehow, we make it work.”

It has been described as his most experimental album and has received a range of feedback. The album sounds like a drug-induced escape from reality with the lyrics, “It’s 5 AM, I’m high again and you can see that I’m in pain.” The record was dropped out of nowhere but had been hinted at for several months and caught most fans by surprise.

There are 16 tracks, which include artists such as Tyler, The Creator, and Lil Wayne. Actor Jim Carrey is credited as a songwriter on the 16th track “Phantom Regret by Jim.” When listening to the album I particularly liked The Weeknd’s use of 80s synth and the way he incorporated it into his own music style. Something I admire is the way he always builds characters and storylines with every album he puts out.

With the inclusion of a narrative, his music has a sort of organization that makes it even more satisfying to listen to. There were songs that I did find weren’t special and sounded overall generic but it was a well put together album and an enjoyable listen.