When executed professionally, rhythm and blues can be an untouchable genre.
We know it as contemporary R&B, or the post-Motown soul. The big names will
never be expelled from the history books. Memories of Michael Jackson's Thriller
and Whitney Houston's self-titled debut album will forever be cited by
future R&B artists as classic influential albums that united soul with pop.
Thriller is the quintessential pop album of the 80s. Jackson's vocal
range, the disco beat, the horrifying werewolf scene....It all leads to a 00s rejuvenation
of creative freedom within the bounds of R&B. The use of sampling and
re-creating ideas is becoming an association for R&B. Frank Ocean's Nostalgia,
Ultra is from start to finish an inspiration. It's an idea of set musical
influences that apart from keeping us entertained, manage to impact our lives.
Elton John with Ocean's "Super Rich Kids", Curtis Mayfield on Justin
Timberlake's "Suit & Tie", and the cast of 70s/80s music on The
Weeknd.
Abel Tesfaye is commonly known as The Weekend, but before his identity was
revealed, he was just... the maker of House of Balloons. He released
three mixtapes in 2011, House of Balloons in March, Thursday in
August, and Echoes of Silence in December. The mystery has now gone,
but the memory of The Weeknd's short lived anonymity will be remembered for its
progressive cult following of electronic-turned-R&B fans. The jig was up
for The Weeknd, his mixtapes had become as popular as the scouse impression.
Universal Music subsidiary Republic Records signed him up and released the
compilation album Trilogy late last year. There’s not a lot to write
home about, Trilogy was just the necessary popularity enlargement that
his music needed. Backed and funded by UMG, The Weeknd now has his work cut out
to make his music career work. Debut album Kiss Land is finally on the
playing field, and we're the opposition about to tackle it - not like the teen
girls that cheer and wave.
You would think The Weeknd's sampling ability has been restricted for Kiss
Land - this isn't the case. His three EPs are a Girl Talk-esque sampling
free for all. A studio album ran by a label cannot possibly be paying off
artists left right and centre just for a sample, even if it makes a song, the
song. The reason big name hip-hop artists turn to expensive producers is
because they can't freely sample what they want like Public Enemy or Beastie
Boys could do in the 80s. Kiss Land isn't too stripped back and separated
from the sampling scene as first imagined. One of its best tracks is built
around a spectacular sample of Portishead's "Machine Gun". This
sample, although produced well, reveals The Weeknd's short comings. His track
development used to be about the grinding electronic synth and 80s pop beat
that we find on those Michael Jackson albums. When listening to "Belong To The World", the Portishead sample just sounds out of place. The string
work sounds like it belongs with Nicki Minaj, not a soulful R&B artist.
Quite frankly, the sample becomes the focus and takes your ears away from The
Weeknd's vocal work, which is in fact one of his best deliveries on Kiss
Land. This weak sampling, obvious sampling, like with Frank Ocean's
"Crack Rock", it just doesn't cut it for me. Tracks from The Weeknd's
three EPs featured heavy sampling that worked, that didn't need strings or
layered vocals to build. "House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls" used
"Happy House" by Siouxsie and the Banshees extensively. When
"Machine Gun" enters on "Belong To The World", it only
makes me want to switch off and listen to Portishead instead.
UMG has a tendency on making its artists sound big, instead of sticking to
past influences and song making aesthetics. The major label sucks all the
creative life out of your fingers and says: 'hey look, we're giving you a
chance, sign here please'. The Weeknd hasn't lost his core values, or his
ideas. All of his lyrical concepts have been changed to suit a person two years
following a broken anonymity. Kiss Land's lyrics are about touring and
more essentially 'girls on tour'. The second track "The Town" is one
of his best songs to date. Forget about the instrumental and focus on the
lyrics for a moment. He sings: "You're almost dead to him, you're
sleeping with a frozen heart." "The Town" tells the
story of separation and lost love, almost waiting for this love to come back
around and find him. To which he finally sings: "I bet you'll take
me in, I know you'll take me in, I know you'll take me in. The same place I
left you in." The hook is harmonised and repeated for effect, all
centred by a backdrop of reverberation and a typical dark beat that you would
find on Thursday.
His instrumentals continue to impress with the track three/four crossover.
The former ("Adaption") has a tricking bass heavy beat, with sinister
lyrics: "Adapted to these models who adapted to the bottle / They
take it down like water, just to burn away their sorrows." It
features a subtle sample of "Bring On The Night" by The Police.
Noticeable to Police fans, but a hidden feature to everyone else. The latter
("Love In The Sky") is given an introduction, the closing segments of
"Adaption". This track is all about The Weeknd's excessive sexual
lyricism. His whole music career has featured steamy R&B lines wet enough
for sexy time. "Love In The Sky" is in fact all about sexy time and
how The Weeknd goes about doing his business. There's also drug references
everywhere, even the titular hook: "We'll find our
love in the sky," reminds you about: "Lucy
in the sky with diamonds." The Weeknd goes on to deliver his
raunchiest lyrics yet: "Ain't no time to fuck slow, and even if I
try, it's not something I would know, but I'm sure I'll make you cum, do it
three times in a row."
The further I venture into Kiss Land, the greater it sounds. Although
UMG does restrict musicians, it seems as if The Weeknd has been left to his own
devices. "Wanderlust" is the post-disco / 80s pop that daft Punk
craved for with Random Access Memories. The vocals are astounding, reaching
the highs of Michael Jackson in his prime - honest to god. He sings: "You're in love with something bigger than love, you
believe in something stronger than trust. Wanderlust." Taking this
beat, The Weeknd has essentially taken a trip through the 80s, taking lyrics
from Fox The Fox's "Precious Little Diamond" for
"Wanderlust's" bridge. It becomes apparent The Weeknd has an
undeniable need for quality. He may be a perfectionist, but some things are
best left raw. Kiss Land is The Weeknd's best produced release to date, with
"Live For" taking the reigns as Drake's throne becomes warm.
Drake's appearance and guest verse is actually respectable and relevant this
time, instead of his off-topic lyricism on last year's good kid, m.A.A.d
city. It's all about the touring artists’ lust.
"Kiss Land" introduced The Weeknd's debut studio album back in
May. We know from that moment that Kiss Land would be far more revealing
into the life of Tesfay. The self-titled track doesn't hit the ground running.
It's actually rather crude and extremely demeaning to women. The female scream
that reoccurs throughout fits in with the horror theme, but begs questions of
Tesfay's respect for women: "Cause the only thing you takin' is your clothes off. Go 'head girl,
strip it down, close your mouth, I just wanna hear your body talk." It's
actually one of my biggest criticisms of The Weeknd as an artist, but
especially on Kiss Land. The music, drugs, and touring lifestyle doesn't
usually come up as content on albums, and credit must be given to The Weeknd
for delivering such lyrical themes. With "Kiss Land", and other
tracks, the hardcore image The Weeknd portrays is for gangster hip-hop, not the
sweet loving R&B/soul genre. There's no smooth "Let's Get It On",
it's all: "You can meet me in the room where the kisses am not free,
you gotta pay with your body." Essentially pointless lyricism with
a simple message of - 'I’m famous now and have money now and have chicks now'.
Fans of The Weeknd will have split opinions with Kiss Land. On one hand
you have a fresh sound, reviving a somewhat dead genre with spectacular hooks
and progressions; on the other hand there's a serious question of authenticity
and skill. Without Illangelo as producer, Kiss Land's sound is drastically
different to that from the three EPs - this will be the deciding factor with
The Weeknd fans. UMG and The Weeknd are looking at the bigger picture, tracks
like "Pretty" and "Tears In The Rain" tie in with the album
concept, but fail to live up to the weaker points on House of Balloons.
This being said, the latter track closes the album, with the rain fall sound
that has featured throughout this album. Kiss Land is like a Sin City
porn parody - it's dark and ethereal in places with rain signifying sadness,
then there's the raunchy Jessica Alba side of things which is for all to
experience on "Love In The Sky" / "Kiss Land" / "Live
For"... You get the picture. But even though this album's lyrical content
is moderately offensive and degrading to women, it's still a fantastic release
and one that has to be recognised as a standout for 2013. "The Town"
has without a doubt the best hook of the year so far, "Professional"
the best sampling, and "Wanderlust" the best Thriller night.
~Eddie
8.6
