Hurry Up Tomorrow - The Weeknd: Review
Review by Lavender:
The Weeknd is a superstar of the highest order. After breaking through as a critical darling of underground R&B he launched into fame in 2015 and has had a consistent string of absolutely massive hits ever since. That culminated in 2020's After Hours an album that features his biggest hit to date "Blinding Lights" and was both a critical and commercial landmark. He followed such a monumental project up strangely, with the divisive oddball concept album Dawn FM, which I personally liked even if it's the weaker of the two. Now he's back with the massive 22-track 84-minute conclusion to that trilogy Hurry Up Tomorrow.
One thing I want to get out of the way immediately is that this album isn't as good as it could have been. What I thought at the time would be its lead single "Dancing In The Flames" was ultimately left off the record, likely due to its underperforming on the chart, which is a shame because it very likely would have been the best song on the entire album. So every time I hear a dud on this record it's impossible not to think about what could have been.
"Open Hearts" is a song that Abel has made a dozen times and this is the weakest version of it yet. "Enjoy The Show" is a 5-minute croon-fest with Future that also intersects with the records chronic issue of dragging out songs way longer than they need to be. Songs like "Big Sleep" and "Red Terror" pop up on the back half of the record without much ability to justify their own inclusions. But most of my issues with the record are less about bad songs and more about tracks with decent ideas stretched well beyond their welcome.
That starts right out of the gate with the Justice-produced "Wake Me Up." While they know how to introduce an album with dramatic fervor the track is WAY too meandering as it tries to build up momentum. "Given Up On Me" represents a bit of a mid point on the record. It has a moody first half that is an absolute drag before eventually turning into a piano ballad that really does feel like new ground for Abel and makes the song infinitely more tolerable. Though the second half of the album avoids the same level of drag there is the meandering "Take Me Back To LA" which may be the very worst example on the entire record.
But at the end of the day this is a Weeknd album, which means there's plenty of highlights as well. While I don't think either of the other singles "Sao Paulo" with Anitta or "Timeless" with Playboi Carti are quite as great as "Flames" they're both VERY welcome on the record and see Abel stepping into the influence of his guests successfully.
They're hardly the only guests to make an impact either. "Reflections Laughing" is one of the slower tracks here but it clicks with me right out of the gate. The subtle backing vocals and spacey instrumentation make it feel so grand. After a phone call interlude Travis Scott finishes the song off with a pitched down verse and he feels like a very natural addition to its sonic palette. There's also "The Abyss" with Lana Del Rey. Admittedly I wish Lana played a bit more of a role in the song given how much chemistry she has with Abel, but ultimately she just handles the songs spectacular outro.
The record does have its deep cut highlights early on, most notably "Cry For Me" which is such a breezy earworm pop song that I wouldn't be surprised if its a hit in six months. But the record's second half is MUCH stronger than it's first and it really hits its stride at "I Can't Wait To Get There." It's an ultra-slick shift for the album with a buttery smooth beat and absolutely killer vocal sample. The moment where Abel slides in with his first verse is one of the best moments on the entire album.
That leads into "Niagara Falls" which feels like it was ripped right out of the middle of After Hours and I mean that as a compliment. "Give Me Mercy" didn't blow me away at first but the more I heard it the refrains started to really stick and I fell in love with how weird the rhythm is and how strange all the instrumentation sounds together. Then there's "Drive" which is emerging as a fan favorite and it's easy to see why. It has a glitzy neon aesthetic but plays its sobering cries pretty seriously and the resulting match of subject and aesthetic feels like flawless nighttime driving music.
The whole album ends on the title track, which may very well be the final "Weeknd" song. If so, it's a pretty triumphant way to go out. The song is a huge dramatic ballad full of lyrics signifying that Abel really is ready to move on from the era that has defined him for so long. He's extremely candid on the song in an even more personal and confessional way than usual and one has to wonder if it's predicting a career shift to music that's more about Abel the man and less about "The Weeknd" the character.
While the song "Hurry Up Tomorrow" is a fitting goodbye to The Weeknd, the album Hurry Up Tomorrow is just okay. Just as it felt like he was honing in on the eccentricities of his sound and nailing down consistent songwriting, he dropped a record that makes similar mistakes to Kiss Land a decade ago. Don't get me wrong there's plenty to like about Hurry Up Tomorrow, but it's impossible to listen to the album without imagining a slimmer version of it that's infinitely better. Despite that everything that has always made Abel an interesting artist is present here, even if it takes a bit more patience than usual to find it. 6.5/10
For more chart-topping albums check out my review of Bad Bunny's DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS
