If there is any question as to who had the most remarkable success story of 2011, one need not look further than The Weeknd, a 21-year-old Canadian recording artist whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, who recently released his new mixtape "Echoes of Silence." Tesfaye's debut R&B mixtape "House of Balloons" secured a solid spot on many "Best of 2011" lists, and his follow up mixtape "Thursday" similarly garnered universally strong feedback.
With the release of "Echoes of Silence" on Dec. 21, Tesfaye capped off the year with a release equally stellar as his earlier two albums. Rounding out a trilogy of mixtapes, all released for free on the-weeknd.com, "Echoes of Silence" paints a portrait of a young artist and newcomer to the recording industry who reacts to his newfound fame with cautious optimism and anxiety.
The nervous energy serves the tape well, creating a more emotionally and sonically complex work than the already complex "House of Balloons," which was released in March. This first release served largely as a mission statement for those who knew nothing of The Weeknd, which is nearly everyone. The debut's impeccably produced slow jams successfully showcased Tesfaye's slick vocals and his twisted tell-all lyrics of a decadent and hard-partying lifestyle.
The unabashed lyrical and musical content of the albums provide shock value, and the songs' incredible hooks served to make the tape one of the most enjoyable listens of the year. But the trepidation and vulnerability Tesfaye displays on both "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence" provide a stunning contrast to his previously established musical identity. Just when we should have seen The Weeknd's formula figured out and his novelty worn off, he quickly evolved in a way that still hold his fans' attention.
The first attention-grabbing surprise in "Echoes" comes immediately in a track mysteriously titled "D.D." In a move that can only be described as gutsy, Tesfaye lays down an impressive cover of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana," which I didn't realize until the coming of the first chorus. It seems to be an appropriate opener for the tape, as Tesfaye filters the emotional sensitivity first explored in "Thursday" through the confident catchiness of "House of Balloons."
In Jackson's "Dirty Diana," the narrator is a jaded victim of a manipulative lover, rather than being the one doling out the manipulation like in Tesfaye's "D.D." Other tracks like "Montreal," in which the singer pleads to a love that could have been, and "Next" with the chorus repeating, "You only want me cause I'm next" seem to imply that some things in love are even out of this philanderer's control.
On "The Fall," he even acknowledges that the fate of his career is out of his hands: "I ain't afraid of the fall/I felt the ground before," he sings. At first listen, the tape seems tamer, less brazenly confident and more honest than typical The Weeknd fare.
But The Weeknd has not given up on his old tricks altogether. His previously seen juicy celebration of decadence is still there in tracks like "XO/The Host." Here, proclamations of "love" seem to be no more than shallow and sexy pick-up lines. In "Initiation," another solid single off the tape, these lines get downright ugly as their forceful delivery seems to imply a less-than-reciprocal relationship between the narrator and his partner. These tracks call into question the sincerity I thought I had found on the tape.
The enigmatic Tesfaye masterfully teases the emotions of the listener just as his narrator teases the emotions of a lover. He reminds us that this is not an Abel Tesfaye album, but a Weeknd album. Whether or not we can trust The Weeknd, and no matter how we come to judge his character, we cannot help but enjoy the hell out of his music.
The album ends with the titular "Echoes of Silence," a stark ballad that drops the robust synths for a lone, haunting piano. The falsetto vocals bleed desperation and emotional pain, showcasing a singer who has dropped all pretense that he has an image to uphold. It may be the closest we ever come to hearing a real "Abel Tesfaye" song, and it serves as a powerful end to the mixtape and the arc of the entire trilogy.
While this final installment did not pack the singular punch of "House of Balloons," it took respectable risks and made them work. The three tapes in general introduced a game-changing sound to R&B music.
I cannot help but look forward to the release of the artist's rumored first "real" album, when he will presumably start charging fans money for his music. Having been such a prolific year for The Weeknd, it is hard to believe that 2011 only marks the beginning of what promises to be an amazing career.
