{"id":6206,"date":"2013-11-06T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T05:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=6206"},"modified":"2013-11-11T13:33:32","modified_gmt":"2013-11-11T18:33:32","slug":"an-odd-look-for-kiss-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/an-odd-look-for-kiss-land\/","title":{"rendered":"An Odd Look for Kiss Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OddLookWeeknd\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Abel Tesfaye returns as The Weeknd for his first official studio album, Kiss Land.\u00a0 This is an album that I have personally waited for since the release of Echoes of Silence during the summer of 2011\u2014if you also discount his compilation album of The Trilogy in 2012 as a real<\/i> first album.\u00a0 What I discovered with Kiss Land is that I found myself waiting for something spectacular to occur.\u00a0 After more than one listen it occurred to me that I would have to continue to wait.\u00a0 The shadowy crooner, who came to play on The Trilogy, showed up only sporadically on Kiss Land.\u00a0 I speak for all of us when I say; I wish we saw more of that excellence here.<\/p>\n

If you are familiar with The Weeknd’s music you are aware of the “feel” most of his songs portray;\u00a0spacious R&B riffs surrounded by mysterious and at times distant vocals work in tandem with narratives of Tesfaye\u2019s character, The Weeknd.\u00a0 Kiss Land takes a similar albeit more shadowy approach.\u00a0 The openings to most tracks are airy, dark and majestic.\u00a0 Tesfaye spends a lot of time harmonizing when he could be using vocals to drive each piece.\u00a0 \u201cProfessional\u201d leads off the album by setting a grand stage for Tesfaye to deliver.\u00a0 However, we get more \u201cairy and wider\u201d with each following track to no overwhelming climax.\u00a0 \u201cBelong to the World\u201d (the fifth track on the album) is one of the first songs on the album to heavily drop stating, \u201cI\u2019m not a fool\/ I just love that you\u2019re dead inside.\u201d\u00a0 If more songs on the album used this technique of driving the song with vocals\u2014that worked so well in previous years\u2014I would not have felt it necessary to skip ahead to heavier vocalized songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cLive for,\u201d was one of those songs that I gravitated towards.\u00a0 In a rare occurrence, pounding beat and driving lyrics combined to force out four minutes of intense music.\u00a0 Drake\u2014one of three featured artists on the album\u2014hops on for the bulk of the song to tell us that the girls, the touring and the partying are \u201cthe shit that [he] lives for.\u201d\u00a0 The feature is fun and adds a refreshing variety to the album.\u00a0 I would have liked to see Drake on more than one song as they have worked so well in the past, as heard on \u201cThe Zone\u201d and \u201cCrew Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a wonderful change of events, Tesfaye hits back-to-back homeruns with \u201cWanderlust.\u201d\u00a0 This track appears twice on the album, the second a remix of the first featuring Pharrell.\u00a0 Personally, I am more of a fan of the second\u2014it refuses to adhere to the shadowy\/ airy theme that clogs the rest of the album.\u00a0 The upbeat \u201cfresh out of a Daft Punk concert sound lightens up the album.\u00a0 Whichever you fancy more, \u201cWanderlust,\u201d while not lyrically exciting, follows a Michael Jackson-esque pop style that has already worked so well for The Weeknd.\u00a0 Borrowing the theme from an entire song, think, \u201cDirty Diana\u201d, \u201cPrecious Little Diamond\u201d by Fox The Fox can be heard throughout.<\/p>\n

It almost pains me to say that there seems to be a giant hole in the album between \u201cWanderlust\u201d and \u201cOdd Look.\u201d \u00a0Any magic that was left over was stolen out from under me when I listened to the title track \u201cKiss Land.\u201d\u00a0 I was overwhelmingly bored.\u00a0 There are only so many empty minutes and wasted space on a song that is acceptable in an album.\u00a0 \u201cPretty\u201d and \u201cTears in the Rain\u201d are also just plain forced.\u00a0 This is the type of music that Tesfaye has typically displayed while featuring on singles\u2014look up \u201cOne of Those Nights,\u201d or \u201cRemember You.\u201d\u00a0 Both Pretty<\/i> and Tears<\/i> are formulaic\u2014like most of the album\u2014the songs enter, build, softly climax and then fall away.\u00a0 It is not a terrible way to do a song, for the past three years it has worked for The Weeknd.\u00a0 Near the end of the album (and his fourth year), the same rhythmic builds and falls on every track have been sorely played out.<\/p>\n

Now, I am not saying that this album lacks creativity.\u00a0 It takes a special artist to pull together the depth and complexity of sound that Kiss Land is lush with.\u00a0 Tesfaye takes ample ground when it comes to adding vocal touches to his tracks that few since Michael Jackson are capable of.\u00a0 The lyrics and pattern are just rough.\u00a0 For anyone who has spent a minute with any of Tesfaye\u2019s previous material, you will again recognize the reoccurring themes of fame and female interactions.\u00a0 Kiss Land spends the album reiterating that these aspects of his life have made him aloof to normality.<\/p>\n

The Weekend is no longer a stranger to the world and neither is his sound\u2014Tesfaye\u2019s face is across the cover of his album and his musical style is cemented into history.\u00a0 While the entirety of Kiss Land may not make it into his greatest hits years down the road; there are definitely minutes of perfection that shine through the shadows.\u00a0 As a \u201ctechnical\u201d sophomore album attempt, there are a few elements that are in need of improvement.\u00a0 But for any casual fan, this album will tie you over until the next one.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Dave Arbus is a senior Writing & Rhetoric student at James Madison University. \u00a0In his free time you’ll find him memorizing rap lyrics and practicing his smile. \u00a0He hopes to one day to join the PGA tour and spend the rest of his life out on the links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are familiar with The Weeknd’s music you are aware of the “feel” most of his songs portray; spacious R&B riffs surrounded by mysterious and at times distant vocals work in tandem with narratives of Tesfaye\u2019s character, The Weeknd. Kiss Land takes a similar albeit more shadowy approach. The openings to most tracks are airy, dark and majestic. Tesfaye spends a lot of time harmonizing when he could be using vocals to drive each piece. \u201cProfessional\u201d leads off the album by setting a grand stage for Tesfaye to deliver. However, we get more \u201cairy and wider\u201d with each following track to no overwhelming climax. <\/p>\n

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