Welcome to the Long Weeknd. For an album called Hurry Up Tomorrow, Abel Tesfaye sure doesn’t mind stretching things out. (Inuendo intended). The album clocks in at just under one and half hours which is easily his longest album to date. But just like The Weeknd being offered illicit substances in dimly lit bathrooms – more is more.
We can also forgive him dipping into extra time, because apparently this is the farewell to our favourite purveyor of R&B sleaze. Hurry Up Tomorrow represents not only the end of The Weeknd’s latest Trilogy, but potentially the end to The Weeknd as a musical persona entirely. And if you’re going to throw a funeral for yourself, you may as well make it a party.
This expansive new album sounds fantastic – the production is a masterclass – and it starts with some of the danciest work in Tesfaye’s discography. Opener ‘Wake Me Up’ lives up to its name, with French electronic duo Justice adding a big dose of funk (after the traditional atmospheric tension building obviously).
By the time you get through the first few tracks you might start to think this is another Starboy, and we’re going to be making the d-floor sweaty from dusk till dawn. Don’t get it twisted, HUT is The Weeknd playing all his hits, so the elation gives way to his patented dirty bleakness for the majority of the rest of the songs.
Technically Hurry Up Tomorrow is the end of a three-album story, but unlike classic trilogies like ‘The Godfather’ or ‘Big Mommas House’, you don’t need to know the first two to appreciate the finale. The Weeknd is more of a vibes guy. Sexy, hopeless, filthy vibes. That’s what we love about The Weeknd – he invites us into the seedy and depressing underbelly of drugs, sex, and having every physical desire met at any time. He’s like if Michael Jackson watched Euphoria.
This threesome’s climax is the death of the character he’s assumed for the albums After Hours, Dawn FM, and Hurry Up Tomorrow; and he’s dialed in on the nihilistic haze of hedonism as he lays this version of himself to rest. Here’s two randomly selected lyrics:
From ‘The Abyss’:
“Let me close my eyes with dignity.
Let’s end it all, the world’s not far behind.”
From ‘São Paulo’
“Hit it from the back, she louder than two sold-out nights.”
Speaking of, ‘São Paulo’ is unlike anything The Weeknd has done before. The team up with South American star Anitta is an absolute banger, and should put Brazilian Funk in the mainstream for the next little while.
(For a fun treat, google the English translation of Anitta’s lyrics – you are welcome!)
That and the Playboy Carti favourite ‘Timeless’ are the most obvious hit songs, and it’s tempting to say no other track seems like a chart topper. But this is a man who got a song like ‘The Hills’ to over 2 Billion streams on Spotify. That’s genuinely wild. Have you listened to that song recently?
Actually maybe it’s not so wild, as The Weeknd’s mix of scuzzy decadence has led to a record 25 of his songs hitting 1 Billion streams. We can’t get enough of living vicariously through this guy. Every one of his previous albums has had at least one monster smash.
I would back ‘Niagara Falls’, ‘Give Me Mercy’, or ‘Open Hearts’ as the breakout of HUT – they strike that sweet spot of dark thoughts and an earworm melody that you will find yourself singing for weeks on end.
It seems like The Weeknd might be backing ‘Open Hearts’, too. Right before HUT dropped he chose the song to premiere on late night TV as his final bit of pre-release promo. It’s a great choice, because it hits instantly and gives just enough of the naughty feeling that comes along with his best work.
That clip also hints at the full feature length film based on Hurry Up Tomorrow, starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan (Wednesday AND Saltburn?! Yeah that sounds about right for this project) – which shows just how expansive Tesfaye’s artistic ambitions have become (not bad for that kid from Toronto dropping mixtapes on YouTube).
Actually on second thought, maybe he’ll make the nightmare fuel ‘Red Terror’ his next entry into the Billion club. Stranger things have happened – just look at the world.
While this is mostly a one man show, there’s a healthy load of featured artists (credited and uncredited) sprinkled throughout. Playboi Carti delivers the goods on the aforementioned ‘Timeless’, and Lana Del Rey continues the duo’s history of collabs on ‘The Abyss’. We’ve talked about the Justice team up already, but Tesfaye goes even further – tagging in Italian synth legend Giorgio Moroder (who Tesfaye has explicitly referred to as a major influence) for his own time on the pro-tools for ‘Big Sleep’.
There’s also some sneaky Florence + The Machine and Travis Scott on ‘Reflections Laughing’, because if you can get Florence and Travis, you use Florence and Travis.
Tesfaye handles most of the production himself, as he’s perfected his chrome plated gothic ethereal sound, but a massive shout out has to go to guest producers Metro Boomin and OPN who take their tracks to the next level.
The most intriguing song is the closer. The titular ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ is sonically as close to Prince as The Weeknd has ever gotten. It’s a big bold ballad and a surprisingly sentimental wrapping up of this era of Abel Tesfaye. Don’t worry, it’s not Katy Perry sweet. It’s a head nod to the recently departed cinematic dream/nightmare purveyor David Lynch – interpolating the original song he penned for Eraserhead. And maybe that’s the key to what Abel has been doing this whole time.
The Weeknd is half dream half nightmare, he elicits feeling of shame and excitement in equal measure. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fantasy. You want to be him, but you could never. Like Lynch, you can try to explain it – but the real thrill is in letting the experience happen.
If this is truly it for The Weekend as we know them, then they’re allowed to bow out with this last gasp of excess. The character that’s been searching for transcendence and/or annihilation has finally found his end. It’s messy, long, and difficult, but it’s his.
