Thursday- The Weeknd

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Thursday was the second out of three mixtapes released by him during his anonymous phase. Thursday is an abstract piece of art that dives deep into The Weeknd’s psyche and explores the XO lifestyle. Similar to HOB this was also genre-defying and gave us a Weeknd’s lyrical and vocal abilities. The mixtape went darker and was edgier than the previous one, proving to us that HOB was not a fluke and The Weeknd is a force to reckon with. Abel is an enigma and to go deeper into how he operates listening and understanding this mixtape is a must.

Here are my favorites from the mixtape-  • Life of the Party- to me this sounded like a perfect song for a vampire movie and The Weeknd is the vampire himself. The guitars and the bass line are so smooth that you just get lost in the beauty of the music. Thematically, the song explores the XO lifestyle and The Weeknd disguises bad intentions with love and temptation. I enjoyed this song a lot and it connected with me in the very first listen, unlike songs from these mixtapes.  • Thursday- The titular track from Thursday provides insight into the meaning of the title, showing that Abel’s feelings or actions drastically change toward this girl from day to day. Thursday is the day before The Weeknd starts and the day Abel dwells into one of the escapades.  • The Zone- The underlying simple beat heard throughout the song mimics the “Lub Dub” sound of a heartbeat. This is the type of song that makes me call this mixtape genre-defying. I am a big fan of Drake’s verse on this track. It feels like he’s amongst the members present at one of the XO parties and the transition to his verse is effortlessly beautiful.  • The Birds Pt. 1- The Weeknd is a dark and sinister character. In this track, The Weeknd warns his girl to not fall in love with him, or he will just leave her. However, she can’t seem to help herself, and Abel does not want to be the one held responsible. This, to me, sounds like a stadium banger with the drums and over the top production. Definitely one of the best tracks on this project.  • The Birds Pt. 2-  in my opinion, this is the darkest song in The Weeknd’s discography. This song samples Martina Topley Bird’s song, ‘Sandpaper Kisses’, a song from the soundtrack of the video game ‘Fahrenheit’. The very somber production and The Weeknd’s vocal prowess are the highlights of not just this song but the whole mixtape.  • Gone- ‘Gone’ provides arguably the deepest and rawest insight into a night of Abel’s in his discography, as the listener gets to feel Abel’s submission to drugs and alcohol both lyrically and sonically. This song is an experience that you need to submit yourself too. It will take you into a trance and make you feel like you’re with him. Give this song a few listens and I’m sure that you will like it as well.  • Heaven Or Las Vegas- this track is the most underrated gem in The Weeknd’s discography. This song is so beautiful and hardcore at the same time. The guitars on this are heavy and will give you a rock feel. The Weeknd cites a lack of a father figure as the reasoning behind the events that he documents on this tape. In contrasting Heaven and the hellish, vice-filled “Sin City,” this song explores the hedonism that has become a trademark to The Weeknd’s songs.

Thursday takes you deep inside the XO lifestyle and to me it makes me feel like The Weeknd is a vampire-like character who comes out at night and makes the whole city his home. Thursday was a very abstract project which takes a few listen to fully immerse you into it. If you want to fully enjoy it, listen to this late at night and let the music take you for a spin.