You know he's got it bad when he says he 'don't even wanna get high no more.' In addition to supplying familiar trap-styled prowling backdrops and some other '80s flashbacks, Tesfaye and his varying team of co-producers refer to some softer points in the U.K. Mere minutes after dropping the superbly dispirited 'I saw you dancing in a crowded room/You look so happy when I'm not with you,' he taunts with 'You don't love him, you're just f*ckin',' repeating it like he's convincing himself that he's not jealous. Some of Tesfaye's most vivid and piercing lines are herein. He sets the tone with an escapist fantasy that turns into a nightmarish relapse, and is tormented for much of the duration by seeking and receiving salvation and ruination from the same relationship. Tesfaye fills much of this neatly sequenced, ballad-heavy set with penitence and longing.

Then came the Max Martin-produced isolation anthem 'Blinding Lights,' an instance of Tesfaye reanimating mid-'80s Euro-pop like he did with 'Wanderlust.' These contrasting previews didn't give away the fact that After Hours is, above all else, a breakup album. 'Never need a bitch, I'm what a bitch need/Tryin' to find the one that can fix me,' contradictory and confused as ever, made the song entirely on brand. Pills, cars, fame, women, and the hard-fought reward for all the overindulgence - a ruthless world view to keep the cycle going - were all in the mix. 'Heartless,' a boastful belter made with Metro Boomin, Illangelo, and Dre Moon, ticked all the boxes to please Abel Tesfaye's base. The first two singles off After Hours were released within three days of each other in November 2019.

The weeknd new album reddit