In the past few months, The Weeknd’s self-released debut mixtape House of Balloons has rapidly hit listeners with a sensation of dazed euphoria. Listening to The Weeknd feels like sipping a liquid painkiller while lying around in lingerie. 20-year-old Vancouver based producer/singer Abel Tesfaye has slipped listeners a sedative that intoxicates with dark, modern R&B love songs. The potent opening track, “High For This,” greets with an eerie, industrial bass line that opens space for Tesfaye’s silky, passion-soaked vocals. “What You Need,” gives flashbacks to 90’s R&B slow jams, but also evokes the swanky emptiness of early dubstep tracks. The Weeknd’s House of Balloons feels like you’ve just experienced a loss or heartbreak so heavy that you feel as if you deserve to be indulgently mischievous for a moment. You may be so absorbed that you don’t leave your loft for a few dark days (“Loft Music”), but at least you feel hazily pain-free while you are experiencing it.
Download House of Balloons here.
