The Weeknd - House of Balloons (Mixtape)

Distractions.  Sometimes you're all ready to get focused on one task, but then things start to pop up and get in the way (I'm looking at you guys, Facebook and Twitter).  You get sidetracked.  I had a whole plan laid out for my posts for this week; it was beautiful.  When I'm prepping to write about an artist, I like to listen to a lot of their songs throughout the day so I can decide what to post and to try and catch any revealing personal information from their lyrics.  The lineup I had ready before, though, is on hold for now because I was listening to something else.  I'm sure basically everyone has had their weekday plans run off track by thoughts of the weekend, but this time it was The Weeknd that got me.

There's a bit of mystery surrounding what The Weeknd is exactly.  From what I've read, it seems it is a one man R&B/Soul act, probably by the name of Abel Tesfaye.  I'm pretty confident that there's a team of others, though, that handled production for this project.  I do know that The Weeknd (God! I keep typing the third e) is based out of Toronto.  He mentions being 20 years old, but his voice is strong and confident and complements the tight production well.  Neither side dominates; there are times for each to shine.

Here's the opening track:
The Weeknd - High For This by The_Weeknd

On my first listen, it sounded like a super smooth and seductive baby-making mixtape.  That was fine; I listened all the way through without skipping any tracks, which to me is a sign of a really good album.  After I found myself hitting repeat a few more times, however, I realized there was a little more going on here.  Sure, the common love song themes are there, but they're presented at a much more primal level.  I use 'love' in the sense of instinctive, possibly drugged up, urges.  It delivers the rawness that Jeremiah, Enrique, and Trey Songz and Drake only wish they knew how to express.  It's subtle, yet forceful.  This isn't your pump-up, pregame music, it's your after hours, make bad decisions but-who-cares music, and it's best listened to in the dark.

This is the closing track and one of my favorites:
The Weeknd - The Knowing by The_Weeknd

Make sure to download all nine tracks off House of Balloons.
Bring the 707 out...