Starboy

Going from the underground’s worst kept secret to the pop game’s biggest name – The Weeknd’s come up has been astronomical. 5 years ago I was being called a fan boy for shouting and raving about an unknown EP called Echoes of Silence, cut forward to 2017 and there’s not a music fan in the world that hasn’t heard a track from Starboy. The thing which always appealed to me about The Weeknd through listening to Echoes of Silence and the amazing Trilogy album was the unapologetic darkness and malice in his music. There was no attempt at accommodating to a broad audience, the jaunting beats and haunting melodies seemed pure and untouched. However, in recent times The Weeknd’s sound has changed and almost become too pop and has lost a lot of its impact for me. Sadly, Starboy follows this trend.

There’s a couple of tracks that do stand out and are worth listening to again, notably Starboy and False Alarm as they had a real unique sound which if had continued throughout the album would have made this a great listen. However, there’s so much of this album which just sounds samey and really this album could have been condensed and a lot of these tracks could have been left lout because they’re simply regurgitating a pattern again and again. I think the bit that really hurts me about this album is the fact that the music sounds watered down and the content censored – Ii feel if anything the label has taken a brilliant unique artist and squashed him into a pop shaped hole and made him into something weaker and less than he actually is. It’s like hiring Slipknot to do carol singing – it just feels wrong.

As an artist I have a lot of respect for The Weeknd as I truly believe he has one of the best voices and original sounds in music right now. However, the current trend in his music is not something I particularly enjoy. I really hope The Weeknd quickly ends this phase in his music and goes back to the darker malevolent side I enjoyed so much.

The Weeknd – Starboy – 2/10