The Weeknd - Trilogy

Lizzie Irwin Sprawling itself over three discs and a mere two and a half hours, Trilogy by The Weeknd is both inherently feel good and devastatingly beautiful, a combination only made possible due to the sheer genius exhibited by Abel Tesfaye. At its best the collection of songs are pulsating, daring and frank, prerequisites necessary for captivating R&B to come into existence. The collection consists of House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, which have all been altered to sound tighter than ever. Tesfaye’s voice and its capabilities are on full display as his three 2011 releases come together in unison to represent his over-activity and unrelenting ambition. Alongside producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, yes, the dudes responsible for aiding rapper/crooner Drake and further, filling dance floors worldwide, Tesfaye is responsible for an anthemic forecast of how alternative R&B is going to debunk the shallow pop and hip hop currently taking over the charts. With thoughtful reminisces guiding a narrative that is sometimes confronting and explicit in its theme of lovelorn drug use and youthful spontaneity. The Weeknd deals intimately with the unattractive, confronting and explicit elements of human life. Don’t discount this seriousness as draining, the dude remains fully capable of writing champagne driven celebratory anthems with a touch more sincerity than just about any other R&B artist (watch your back R.Kelly). The album House of Balloons his excitement and lust for life is highly palpable and infectious, it’s a rewarding experience after witnessing the utter distress and desperation conveyed in the other two albums. With samples from Aaliyah’s ‘Rock The Boat’ present on the track ‘High For This’, accompanied with Springsteen-esque guitars and pummeling drums, it’s a true party. Further, ‘The Morning’ pulled from the same album is equally as charming and upbeat, we see The Weeknd bloom as his acceptance of himself is prevalent and he learns to employ a nonchalant approach to his whirlwind of emotional melodrama. Its funny; despite the high amount of rejoice on House of Balloons, the darkest track ‘Wicked Games’ has been the only single pulled from the album thus far. With lyrics such as “bring the love baby I can bring the shame” and “bring the drugs baby I can bring the pain” it’s surprising that he chose the track, but an onslaught of melodic harmonies layered over a minimal drum driven track make this choice more justified. Thursday, the second and third album is a touch more desperate for enjoyment rather than casually inviting it. The title is extremely fitting because we all know that in terms of weekdays Thursday is categorically, the worst. However when Drake raps on ‘The Zone’ you can almost forget how much Thursday blows. Where we’d expect to see Drake drowning his sorrows in the club, we’re not made adverse to the idea of Tesfaye and Drizzy utterly alone and loathed. It’s one of the highlights on Trilogy as it not only promises us that The Weeknd is here to blur the lines between compelling and pure pop sensibility but it’s a nice opportunity to view Drake as a serious rapper rather than the butt of hip hop’s longest running joke. Another of hip hop’s running jokes appears on the final album, Echoes of Silence – Juicy J accompanies Tesfaye on ‘Same Old Song’ a festive jam that calls out to the happiest season of the year yet doesn’t seem entirely merry. Although this track lacks, the album perfectly completes an erratic Trilogy of mood swings and codeine fulled life decisions. The closing tune ‘Till Dawn (Here Comes The Sun)’ is a fittingly thematic conclusion to a collection that could be considered draining if it wasn’t so encapsulating.