After Hours Review

Prior to giving After Hours a spin, Blinding Lights was the only track I’d heard and I thought it was phenomenal. It’s everything you’d expect from a good Weeknd track, only better, so I jumped in with high hopes. On my initial listen, I really wasn’t impressed until around the halfway mark. It was only when I listened for a second and finally a third time that most of the earlier tracks clicked in some way or another.

That being said, The Weeknd is at his best here in the latter half - The 80s inspired synths and production are a real treat for the ears. I think that this is his first release for me which is relatively “fluff free”, and thankfully most of it sticks.

Average/Mixed: Escape From LA, Until I Bleed Out
Good: Alone Again, Snow Child, Repeat After Me (Interlude)
Great: Too Late, Hardest To Love, Scared To Live, Heartless, Faith, Save Your Tears
Amazing: In Your Eyes, Blinding Lights, After Hours

Album Rating: 8/10

Gonna do this either tonight or tomorrow :hee:

I started to listen to him and gain interest after starboy. This album in my opinion is his best work the 80s inspired syncs work so well and I appreciate how ever song bleeds into each other. I do feel that the album falls a bit flat in the middle, there’s a string of songs that are just to similar and mellow. It picks up in the latter half of the album extremely well and reignites my interest. Those six punches near the end (excluding the interlude) starting with Heartless to After Hours whew!!!

Highlights: Faith, In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears (his best song), After Hours, Alone Again

7.5

Chromatica (I know it was last week, sue me)

It's a real solid earworm album with no real bad tracks, I do think it potentially doesn't have a long shelf life though given that I think some songs could potentially grow old fast. That being said it's a very cohesive album, perhaps too cohesive on the first listen since it took me more listens to differentiate some of the songs, the more unique aspects of each song takes multiple listens to shine through I think.

8/10

After Hours

I liked it a lot although it's a bit samey at parts. Sonically, it's a strong album and the vibes and themes are entrancing and addictive but it's also a bit over long and there are some songs that feel like pure filler.

7/10

I think I agree with what a couple of people said re there being some real stand out songs, but the middle section of the album has songs that are a bit too similar and hard to differentiate (Escape from LA is also 2 minutes too long tbqh). Aside from that I really enjoyed it, Abel is one of the very very few Male artists who’s voices I actually enjoy (even if the lyrics to the songs aren’t that relatable :eyes: “For that pussy you know i’m a slave” :eyes::eyes::eyes:) Aside from the singles which I’ve loved I think my fave from the album is Hardest to Love, hope it’s a single at some point bc it’s a BOP :dazzler:

Faves: Alone Again, Blinding Lights, Hardest To Love, In Your Eyes

7/10

When is fi

must admit it's not an album i have listened to in full

just know the most known hits

Blinding Lights: very much of a earwurm, a very recognizable beat too

In Your Eyes: also quite good, but not as good for me personally as Blinding Lights


no score from me because it is not a full album review, but i just wanted to say that about those 2 songs

What’s next loov

After Hours

Same as I thought on first listen of this album, it's decent but there's a couple songs that really carry it. Some of the better songs on the album ranked: Heartless > Blinding Lights > Snowchild (maybe 2nd best) > In Your Eyes > After Hours > Nothing Compares > Until I Bleed Out

Overall

7.2/10

Is this really necessary

It's slightly better than a 7 but not quite a 7.5 or 8 :spin:

decimals are fine and welcome!

Right then, the aggregate score for After Hours is a respectable 68.

Album #3, you ask? I suppose it's best we get Ms. Apple out of the way before Scott hurts someone. I'll put it in the OP.

10/10

When I joined this forum and quickly became friends with Scott, one of the first things he asked me to do was listen to 'The Idler Wheel'....by some woman I had never heard of and I obliged. Six years later, her latest album is released and I was blown away on first listen. It feels like Fiona just woke up in a pissed off mood and sang these songs whilst releasing her rage and what a glorious outcome it gave us. I love the feel of the album, with kitchen utensils used as instruments and dog barks in the background of songs, you can really tell this was self produced. I genuinely like every song on here, it's one of those albums with no duds, and it's all very cohesive and flowing without feeling repetitive, I feel Fiona has finally released her masterpiece, and I hope this album is seen as the artpop classic it is, up there with other fantastic works like Kate Bush's Hounds of Love and Björk's Homogenic, because it deserves it. This album is a one off and a masterpiece.

Favourites: Shameika, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Under The Table, Relay, Newspaper, Heavy Balloon, Cosmonauts, For Her

Oh wait will it still count if I didn't review the weeknd?

Genuinely one of the best albums of all time and it doesn’t even feel weird saying that when it’s not even been out for 2 months. There are some tracks that i’m not overly keen on (newspaper and heavy balloon) but the others more than make up for it. Shameika is a highlight and like, the fact that she references that gloria in excelsis deo hymn that they made everyone sing in primary school... her mind. That and “my dog and my man and music is my holy trinity” is probably the greatest lyric of all time? The title track is another highlight and references cathy bush - legends supporting legends, we love to see it. She also INVENTED feminism with ladies, giving her blessing for her ex’s current partners To take whatever she left in his kitchen cupboards/bathroom cabinets - charitable queen! Although there are too many amazing tracks to pick out a single favourite, for her is transcendent and definitely among the best. “You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”. SHOOK.

Not terrible but not great: newspaper, heavy balloon
Legendary: shameika, fetch the bolt cutters, relay, rack of his, ladies, for her

10/10

:skull:

Lmfao Scott

That's legit the most I've ever seen you write

I'm excited to listen to this one!

I don't have a full review yet but I wanted to give it a bump so I'll drop my score: 9.5. I'll get around to explaining fully eventually but for now I'll just say that my favourites were Shameika, Relay, Ladies and For Her.

Only thing holding it back from being a perfect 10 is that I think Cosmonauts and Drumset sort of take the wind out of its sails towards the end of the album, but I don't hate either of those. Actually **** it let's make this the full review. I think the lyrics are startling; some of the most personal and evocative personal music I've ever heard. Pretty much every track feels like an unfiltered therapy session, and there's almost a chaotic quality to the album. But at the same time, it's refined into something seamless, and each chunk makes sense in context and feels like a lushly-described flashback towards something she's overcome.

I don't know if I've given it the full attention it deserves yet - in fact, no, I know I haven't - but it's definitely album of the year so far.

:joker:

Fetch The Bolt Cutters is a tough one for me, I really enjoyed some of the vocals, then in the exact same song there would be parts where she sounded like a croaky witch, it was very confusing. The lyrics were good, I'll say that, but this definitely isn't my style of music. I'll say Shameika is my favourite song on the album because it was the most entertaining.

Overall I'll give Fetch The Bolt Cutters a 5
I can understand why people enjoy the music but it's not for me.

I've listened to this album quite a few times now to try and get into it as much as I can. I think the songwriting/lyrics are great and can’t really be faulted but the vocals and basement sounding production just isn’t enjoyable for me. I can appreciate why people enjoy it, because it gives it a more stripped back “authentic” (?) kind of feel, but it just makes everything sound like a demo for me. On top of that, I just don’t find her vocals particularly enjoyable. Some parts she sounds like a dolphin and then other parts she sounds like my stomach growling and I just can’t understand the point of it? I think i was just judging this on the lyrics it’d be an 8 or a 9 but in terms as enjoying it as a full album I can’t. So I’ll have to give it a 5/10

My faves are Shameika, Fetch The Bolt Cutters & Ladies.

and you shoulda saved this for the two bloody 5s