January 31st of 2025 was the date the infamous artist, The Weeknd, dropped his first album since After Hours in 2020. He definitely explored a style different from his usual, experimenting with variations of beats and symphonies. The album consisted of 22 songs, and, compared with his last albums, he ventured on with a different lyrical approach, adding onto his album standing out in his discography overall. 

Going into this review completely unbiased, I did not enjoy the album. There were a few well structured songs with a good flow that I enjoyed, but there were not enough to weigh out the bad to determine the album a “good” one. 

I found that the majority of the songs contained a handful of moments that seemed like they could build up to what would’ve been a good beat drop but eventually had an underwhelming climax. Happening a multitude of times throughout the album,  so much so that some songs didn’t get anything to mimic that peak at all. I’m quite disappointed in this album, and being a fan of his old music I expected more. 

I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was necessarily bad; it’s just that so much more could’ve been done with this and I found myself having a hard time listening to the entirety of it. Some of the beats being ones you’d easily be able to replicate yourself on GarageBand, and a good handful of intros and outros reminding me of something you’d hear in a yawn-worthy movie trailer.

I will admit, it was nice to see The Weeknd switch it up slightly with this new and exciting drop, and being able to listen to him after such a long time was refreshing. I just don’t think that this was anything memorable compared to the rest of his work. Though, I am looking toward any future projects of his going forward.