Abel Tesfaye’s third mixtape of 2011 wastes no time letting us know where he’s at, as Tesfaye head-longs into an impassioned cover of Jackson’s “Dirty Diana,” a song which repeatedly refers to a super-minx groupie as “dirty.” Echoes of Silence sees Tesfaye dwelling heavily on the dark side of success, as well as the usual collection of sad, drugged out girl-pals and gloomy downtown-glitz debauchery.
The first stand-out track is “Montreal,” where Tesfaye waxes about regret over his looping, melancholy rendition of France Gall’s Serge Gainsbourg-penned ’60s hit “Laisse Tomber les Filles” (which, in the words of April March, loosely translates to “Hang Up the Chick Habit”). Title considered, “Montreal” is exactly the simple, refreshing and clever content The Weeknd has proven capable of this year.
“Initiation” is another favourite. Vocals slide up and down in pitch in a way that’s fresh, clean and smart, while lyrics like “killing serotonin in that two floor loft in the middle, we be choking” demonstrate the insider, self-referential shit that fans – myself included – love. References to the Weeknd’s ultra-tragic “xo” logo abound throughout the tape, while on other tracks Tasfaye busts out lines like “I’ve been good since ‘Thursday’” and “you could have been that ‘Lonely Star.’” It’s a brilliant move, especially in the Weeknd universe.
Echoes of Silence lags at times, maybe because there was a rush to put out three album-length releases in one year or maybe because expectations are higher now, but that same lonely feeling permeates and there’s little that actually disappoints or breaks The Weeknd’s spell. A 21-year-old Ontario artist making smart, soulful, well produced, melancholy R&B about strippers, hi-rise condos, his journey through a life full of art, substances, and miserable, vapid girls, and the development of an urban masculinity that’s both highly sensitive and jaded beyond hope, still seem deeply important. Sure, Drake got there first – but The Weeknd does it darker.
This is an impressive, talented artist shining at a key time in his budding career and if this work wasn’t getting the hype it’s seen so far, abroad and especially at home, there would be a problem. (Independent, the-weekend-xo.com) Kristel Jax