Part 5: House Of Balloons by The Weeknd
Dark. Moody. Murky. Late night listening. The Weeknd is shrouded in mystery and I love it. House Of Balloons is the first offering from Toronto based Abel Tesfaye, otherwise known as The Weeknd. It surfaced in March 2011 containing nine tracks of dark, dirty “R’n’B” (I use the term loosely) and is something that I’ve been craving for a long time. Far removed from the oversaturated, sickly, bland pop R’n’B that drains radio airplay, House Of Balloons provides a murky, sometimes disturbing, soundtrack to lusty, late night tales of debauchery and over indulgence that some of us will be only too familiar with.
The artwork for this release also goes against what is expected, choosing a black and white photograph lifted from the very lust fuelled house party the content emobodies, set with simple, almost retro looking type. It whispers mystery and fits perfectly with the low key approach of the artist.
House Of Balloons is available to download from www.the-weeknd.com and if reports are to believed, the second and third parts of the trilogy, Thursday and Echoes Of Silence, will be with us in Summer and Fall 2011.
