The Weeknd
is trapped somewhere between death and rebirth on
Hurry Up Tomorrow
, his sixth and potentially final album. Though a lot of the experimental R&B and futuristic pop made by
Abel Tesfaye
as
the Weeknd
on his climb to worldwide fame has been heavy, moody, fatalistic, and looking towards dire endings, there's a cloud of finality that hangs aggressively and heavy-handedly over
. Nearly every song here focuses on the rigors of fame, with lyrics returning time and again to being drained by the demands of touring, wanting out, being in too deep, and generally being ready to end it all. Luckily, these depressing themes are wrapped in the same brilliant production, shiny synths, and intelligent song construction as the best of
's output. The stabbing synth tones and darkly enchanting melodies of "Cry for Me" recall earlier
Weeknd
hits, and quickly transition into the quasi-Brazilian bump of "São Paulo," which is completed by an electric vocal hook from
Anitta
. Glum ballad "Reflections Laughing" builds in intensity until what began as a fairly minimal song becomes a cinematic experience, tapping into both the over-the-top grandeur of
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
and the edgy nocturnal atmosphere of
the Chromatics
or
Tesfaye
's frequent producer and collaborator
Oneohtrix Point Never
. The seriousness rarely wavers throughout
, but moments like the elastic bump of vaporous rap tune "Timeless" with
Playboi Carti
, the sunny pop of "Give Me Mercy," and the knowing re-creation of
Michael Jackson
's "Thriller" groove on the second half of "Wake Me Up" keep things moving. ~ Fred Thomas