The Weeknd - Dawn FM (FIRST IMPRESSIONS)

Pictured: alternate cover art, taken from the physical editions of the album.

“You are now listening to 103.5 Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for way too long. It’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms. Scared? Don’t worry. We’ll be there to hold your hand and guide you through this painless transition. But what’s the rush? Just relax and enjoy another hour of commercial ‘free yourself’ music on 103.5 Dawn FM. Tune in.”

The Weeknd is one of the biggest artists on the planet right now, if not THE biggest artist out there. His previous album, 2020's After Hours, was a mammoth success that smashed record after record, charted endlessly, and sold thousands of copies. You've been living under a rock if you haven't heard Blinding Lights or Save Your Tears over the past two years. Culminating in a glitzy, glamorous Super Bowl LV Half Time set, designed after the imagery and motifs of After Hours' Vegas settings.

So how do you follow up THE biggest record of your career so far?

Do you do more groove-laden, infectious hooks? Go FULL 80's? Make a left turn into oddball territory? Invite Jim Carrey on your album?

The answer is all of the above. In flying colors.

Dawn FM is a fun listen, unlike anything I could have possibly expected from what came before it. Sure I expected a great record, but certainly not... this. A trippy, dance party trek through purgatory only to get to the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't make ANY sense as a "next step" from the ambiance and despair of After Hours. Yet, Dawn FM's concept functions almost perfectly as a sonic companion to its predecessor. It ended up being much headier than I was expecting, concept-wise. Production is a 10/10, by all means. Abel Tesfaye is no stranger to slick, stylish production in the more recent years of his output and this is certainly no exception. The Daft Punk-esque grooves ooze out of every facet of this album throughout the entire first half and the overall concepts tie into the tracks in different shades. The absolute powerhouse of production that is Tesfaye, Oneohtrix Point Never, Max Martin, and QUINCY JONES band together in an enthralling, gripping, fascinating manner that I was absolutely mesmerized by. This doesn't even scratch the surface of hitmakers behind the scenes. Calvin Harris, DaHeala, and Swedish House Mafia make their presences well known through the tracklisting, while still distinctly being Tesfaye's album at the end of the day. Simply put: this record is pure ear candy. 

A few albums come to mind that could give you an idea of the vibe of Dawn FM. Discovery AND Random Access Memories by Daft Punk, Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age (in concept, at least) off the top of my head. The sudden shifts, skips, and jumps between tracks leave little breathing room; tracks bleed into one another in ways I wished After Hours did more of. In that aspect, the "purgatory radio" concept certainly feels the most appropriate for the tracklisting.

If there are any weak elements, it would be the features from Tyler, The Creator, Lil Wayne; and one out of the sixteen tracks. Tyler and Wayne's verses are solid and fit the songs but where The Weeknd tends to elevate his guests, they only end up good instead of truly great. Tyler and Wayne's respective verses certainly don't bog down the tracks, but they don't add what I and others might have expected.

As far as an actual weak track, I'd be hard-pressed to really say any of them. You could make the argument Less Than Zero is serviceable, but it still has elements I really enjoy. The track is almost a Save Your Tears 2, more than anything. I don't dislike it, but I think its placement towards the back half after the more energetic and bizarre cuts leave it jutting out in a less impressive way than many of the highlights on the record.

Overall though? I am loving this on first impression. I am feeling strongly about this record, and I'm very pleasantly surprised by the vibe it's going for. Certainly not the darkness of After Hours, this is an exciting, necessary breath of fresh air while reinventing what makes Tesfaye so appealing yet again. This is Starboy done truly right without the bloat but adding a necessary element of pure, bold, fun. Tesfaye sounds truly in a new element here and it shows he has so much passion for his current direction. Dawn FM isn't the follow-up I think people expected, but it might just be what we needed.

9/10

Favorite tracks:

DAWN FM, GASOLINE, HOW DO I MAKE YOU LOVE ME?, TAKE MY BREATH, SACRIFICE,  A TALE BY QUINCY, OUT OF TIME, HERE WE GO... AGAIN, IS THERE SOMEONE ELSE?, STARRY EYES, EVERY ANGEL IS TERRIFYING, DON'T BREAK MY HEART, I HEARD YOU'RE MARRIED, PHANTOM REGRET

Least favorite tracks:

I GUESS LESS THAN ZERO?