On March 20, The Weeknd released his newest album: After Hours. For the star’s fourth album, the Canadian singer scrubs away his glitzy pop sensibilities from his Starboy era to bring back his smoky, gut-wrenching sound, dating back to the early 2010s. The hallmarks of this iconic album include ultra-cinematic keyboards, pulsating sub-bass, ‘80s synthesizer flourishes and caverns of echo, all of which contrast with his high, angelic voice.
Abel Tesfaye, better recognized as The Weeknd, started promoting the album in November 2019, releasing his first two singles, “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights,” two days apart. “Blinding Lights,” the second single and most popular song from the album, currently holds the fourth spot in the Billboard Top 100. While the first two singles are sonically and thematically similar to the title track of his last album, “Starboy,” the third single and title track “After Hours” sounds much more like his earlier discography.
Not only did this album flourish due to the unique sounds of this time period, but The Weeknd also made the decision to use music videos to accompany some of the songs on the album. The ’80s sounds are mirrored in the visual imagery of the album’s related music videos. The music video for “In Your Eyes,” the 10th track of the album, received more than 2.2 million views on YouTube since it’s Monday morning release. “In Your Eyes” — joining “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” as the only tracks that presently have an accompanying video — takes on the aesthetics of an ’80s horror movie, picturing Tesfaye as a knife-wielding murderer, chasing down a woman who witnessed his most recent slay. Imagery of bloodied faces broken up by flashing party lights intensify the narrative of the album, drawing the viewer in until the final scene.
Many believe that After Hours can be divided smoothly in half. The first half (mostly) sees The Weeknd operating in “business-as-usual” mode. Most of the tracks feature his signature sound: nocturnal modern synth instrumentals behind booming trap drums with Tesfaye crooning about self-awareness, the loss of love, and the personal problems he chooses not to solve. The second half of the album seems to focus more upon a startling evolution in sound for The Weeknd, including some of the biggest hits on this album. “In Your Eyes” and “Save Your Tears” are album highlights, sounding like lost ‘80s FM radio hits updated for the modern listener.
Dua Lipa, another star in the music industry, used the techniques of 80’s imagery and style to further push her music and market her talents, similarly to the Weeknd. With the blinding success that this album has brought, I would expect many more artists to release songs and albums with a similar retro marketing technique.
Serving as Abel Tesfaye’s fourth No. 1 album, After Hours has skyrocketed to the top of the charts, despite being released amid a global pandemic. Variety Magazine says “After Hours is one of the most successful musicians of the past decade testing the balance between innovation and commerciality as much as anyone today.” If you have yet to listen to this artistic masterpiece, here is a link to his songs/music videos.
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