After Hours

Yeah, I think this will age better than people think, very strong and introspective tracks on here.

It's pretty remarkable that this is a mainstream pop record. Credit for pushing the boundaries. I'm a big fan of the really early music that he released for free with Beach House samples and real dark vibes.

There's a few certified bops here, for sure. But as a whole album? This just felt bloated, bland, and boring. It's a shame, from the singles and lots of features I know him from, I had high hopes for this, but it just wasn't for me.

The image, overprompted, persists: A man following you more-or-less obvious, protesting innocence pain & contrition. After Hours puts musical effort into the not-dance, creating quite a contrast with the singles. When they enter the mix, they complicate. A less extravagant project, a promising direction, a record that pulls the last punch.

Wow, the first single off this album has over 4 billion streams on Spotify since it came out in 2020! That is truely impressive. And with my exposure to The Weekend being limited to only a few radio-hits (among which Blinding Lights) I had some good hopes that the rest of this album would also be packed in that lovely 80's poppy-synth sound. Too bad though. I'm probably too old to 'understand' this, but this album is driving me nuts. In a bad way. Very well produced and catchy, but oily slik, falsetto wining and awfully bland lyrics. With the chance of insulting a whole generation: I'll skip the Weekend and will go right into Monday.

Love this album, and I totally support the inclusion. I think this is the best The Weeknd has given us yet, his peak to date and I can't wait to see if he comes close again. Huge pop hits that are undeniably cool, deep cuts that are even cooler. "Snowchild" is maybe my favorite song he's ever made, and it does NOT get enough love. The title track is also phenomenal. This is one of my favorite albums of this decade so far, it really shifted the vibe during COVID/quarantine (I think it was the first big album to drop during that time). I'm between 4.5 and 5 stars on this one, and I think time will push this to the 5 stars so that's what I'll give it today.

I tried to like this but the dream-pop, repetitive drum machine and his high pitched vocals really got under my skin. The only redeeming thing about this album was Blinded by the light.

First go at a full Weeknd LP and I left feeling unsatisfied. There's an immense amount of effort poured into the production here, with not a single synth out of place in the airtight but expansive soundstage that most of the tracks live in. However, all that works means nothing when the instrumentals feel limp and uninspired, aggressive synth stabs making short appearances only to be replaced by pretty basic melodic placeholders. Abel sounds bored and like he can't be half-assed to pour any real emotion into his vocals, and it makes sense when the lyrics are thinner and less imaginative than a piece of toilet paper. Just a frustrating LP overall – it's clear Tesfaye wanted to build something massive here, but the end product feels empty and sterile due to his lack of follow-through.

After Hours is either lightweight and superficial, or it's just not my thing, can't decide which. It is terribly terribly overproduced but I guess you expect that from the genre and style, some of it works, lots of it doesn't and it occasionally comes across as a pisstake. Even the big hits feel terribly overplayed now, and the best part of Blinding Lights is actually the transition from Faith leading into it, which creates and atmosphere and intensity of feeling that doesn't really find its way through in the rest of the album. This got a load of praise and play and acclaim and I don't really get it; a lot of the reviews seem to have to invent stuff to say about it (from wiki, "sparkled trauma, kaleidoscopic emotional confusion, urgent and panting physical release paired with failed-state romantic dyspepsia"). A 2/5, it's not really that good, is it?

Some immense talent on display here. Thanks for sharing!

One of the most, if not the most important artist nowadays. Great album. The side B of the record is majestic.

Did not expect this one But very very very deserved 5 It's impossible to choose a favorite song from this album He really found the secret formula somehow Think he found it somewhere in the 80s

Rating: 10/10

Amazing!

I really wanted to dislike this album. I really did. It's a 3/5 easy but Blinding Lights and Save Your Tears and legit pop bangers worthy of an extra star. 4/5.

Good listen all the way through. Thanks for suggesting.

A recent classic. Very strong effort from Abel. If it had been shorter and had included a few more songs of the same quality as "Blinding Lights", "Save Your Tears", "In Your Eyes" or even "After Hours", we would be talking about the "Thriller" of our time

Powerful beats, great voice, fantastic to listen to.

Definitely a good album. It's not something I would listen to often, and I think his style gets old half-way through the album. This one (for me) is better when the tracks show up randomly on a massive playlist. Blinding Lights is great. 3.5

This has some seriously great pop songs, but I would have included Beauty Behind the Mask over it. Beauty Behind the Madness is a great album from beginning to end, and it was more important for establishing Weeknd and his influence on the pop landscape. This album's pivot to synthwave was cool, but it wasn't super revolutionary or anything... and there was a lot of filler.

Sad party music for sad party people

This album has no right being as good as it is. It’s 2020 pop with rap level production and typical overt weeknd lyrics. But on after hours everything comes together so well. I heard this back when it came out but never really revisited it until now and there are so many fantastic pop songs on this. A future classic. 8.1/10

While I'm more of a Starboy person because that's the one I saw live and was informational to my early high school years, I have to admit that this one has more sauce. The 80s synth sound--while he can't quite escape Michael jackson--really fits his voice and it sounds great. Blinding lights, save your tears, heartless are all super fun hits.

We always need to be open minded with music. When I saw this album I said "oh no". This is definitely not the type of music that I am listening too. But, that was nice, I have to admit it. Very nice music, it calmed me down.

Yeah, so I knew and liked the singles. On the one hand, this is a gorgeously bleak and cold album, with some deft lyricism to match. On the other, it sounds so of the now in its production it'll age like milk. Not really fair as I know The Weeknd was a pioneer of this autotune alienation type sound...

Although not my favourite from him (I prefer Dawn FM), it was the first time that I was really impressed by a Weeknd LP. Obviously, Blinding Lights is a huge selling point. Not the most original suggestion considering how popular the guy is, but still a solid album. 7.5/10

Ladies and Gentleman, the Weeknd. So many bangers on here! I remember right before this came out, I had flown back from a work trip in Columbus and found out my wife basically had one of the very early instances of Covid (this was mid December 2019 and there would have been no way to know but all the symptoms, very high fever etc). When I arrived she looked sick as a dog but somehow had enough energy to do a dance to this new single, Blinding Lights. The beat was infectious and I started dancing too. I think about that every time I hear that song. There’s some other greats on here too like Hardest to Love, Scared to Live, Heartless, and Save Your Tears. I was never sold on the entire album, but it’s still a great one.

I promised myself I'd give some space between the end of the main list and the start but Ladies and gentlemen... the Weeknd March 27, 2025 (5 years of this album holay) I'm of the opinion that the trilogy, including this, Dawn FM and Hurry Up Tomorrow are solid as fuck- though my favourite is Dawn FM :) The thick, hazy, cinematic synths present in this one provide a template for those other two albums, so this would be the logical choice. What can I say about “Blinding Lights”? That song follows me everywhere I go, up to and including my dreams. I can’t really complain though, because one of my favourite pop songs from lockdown was “Save Your Tears”, which like “Blinding Lights” was co-written with Max Martin/Oscar Holter 🇸🇪 I could nitpick on which Weeknd should be on the 1001, but this one works just fine. Just wish it started and ended in a more concise manner HL: "Hardest to Love", "Scared to Live", “Faith”, "Save Your Tears", “Until I Bleed Out”

I had no idea that The Weeknd was the #1 streaming artist on Spotify, as well as maybe this album? I have heard a few tracks from The Weeknd but could not have told you who they were by. That said, this was better than I thought. Musically the beats and blooming synths sound great on their own, which unfortunately are brought down to earth by the vocals one-dimensionality. He’s kinda like the new T-Pain with the use of auto tune here, although it’s not a strongly used. Lyrically it’s all about longing and wanting that person back, which is so boring in pop music to me but… it’s universal and what you’d wanna sing about to get the most fans, for sure. Overall not bad. Although I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen, it wouldn’t also make me immediately reach to turn it off. Win?

Favorite part: drum programming Least favorite part: vocals

I can get into this. If I listen to a lot of The Weeknd it starts sounding whiney, but this is a cohesive album with a lot of strong songs. "Save Your Tears" really jumped out on this listen for some reason. May have been because it was reminding me "Apocalypse" by Cigarettes After Sex.

I enjoyed this, but it's hard not to compare it to similar-vein greats like Prince and find it lacking.

This album is extremely boring and extremely popular. Abel's voice is really grating to me - it's so high and so robotic. He hits the right notes but has absolutely zero emotion. Basically the two popular songs are decent and everything else is so mid. 5/10

5/10. Well, I think that was enough autotune to keep me satisfied for a few years. Not bad by any means, and there were some nice lyrics as well, but I don't really like the overall sound that much.

It was a decent album. I recognized several of the songs. Each song sounded very similar. It was also a little long.

It's curious to me how this album has such good singles but is not super strong otherwise. It's sort of a late night synth pop album featuring trap beats and elements of New Wave. These elements are interesting on their own, but they start to sound the same especially over the course of 50+ minutes. There are a few stand out songs that break the monotony, and I believe that the Weeknd, as massively talented as he is, is capable of crafting more interesting music.

R&B, new wave, dream pop. Un megahit (Blinding lights). Ni fu ni fa.

If the rest of this album sounded more like Blinding Lights or In Your Eyes or even Save Your Tears, i.e. 80s technopop, I'd like it a lot better. So much of this is so dour though. On the other hand it's amazingly produced, it sounds great in my headphones. Overall just a little too monotonous.

Slick production and a shimmery vibe that I enjoyed. This album certainly has its moments and is a strong touchstone for what's been going on music recently. Still, I have limited patience for this style of vocal and The Weeknd definitely could have edited this down by a few songs. Fave Songs: Blinding Lights, After Hours, In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears

Blinding Lights is a classic song, the rest of the album shows The Weeknd as a second rate Michael Jackson.

It's interesting to hear an album by one of the biggest artists on the planets and get a feeling of what the kids are currently down with. It's much weirder and more arty than I'd imagined, but something about it is still quite bland. Very of it's time and difficult to see anything beyond Blinding Lights being remembered in 10 years time, but as a fully fledged old guy, I don't think I'm supposed to get it. Blinding Lights has over 4 billion streams on Spotify. Crazy numbers. Rating: 2.5 Playlist track: Blinding Lights Date listened: 29/09/24

I'm pretty sure even the uncontacted tribes of the world have heard "Blinding Lights" at this point. Admittedly, I was very big into the "Beauty Behind The Madness" record, but fell off quickly after. It's interesting to see the progression, while still being very, very dark ("Faith", my lord). I'll admit I'm not as into the trap sounds of, say, Future that I think this record deals in. I can enjoy a few songs but a full album feels like a lot. Despite that, I do enjoy the overall atmosphere. It does feel aptly named, "After Hours": the party has long turned, it's still dark, but you know that's going to change too. It's a tough call, rating wise. I didn't hate it, but the radio singles are so saturated I don't think I can put enough distance between them to justify a higher rating. Favorite tracks: "Escape From LA", "Heartless", "Repeat After Me"

Well, I hate the cover. But I love the song “Blinding Lights.” So who knows where this leads… This was a bit mellower than expected… maybe a bit too much so. I was hoping for more like Blinding Lights. My attention drifted quite a bit during most of the rest of the album. It wasn’t unpleasant, it just didn’t hold my attention and I really lost interest. Bonus star for Blinding Lights.

I've always enjoyed a good The Weeknd single since "I Can't Feel my Face." However I've not listened to a whole album before. I found most of it a little too much auto-tuned falsetto slow songs for my taste. I still love "Blinding Lights," though! And "Save Your Tears."

Not really a fan of the weeknd, but can’t not argue how big this album was in 2020.

Not my thing, but the album is good and a merited addition to this roster. Atmospheric is the word of the day

Oooooooo I’m blinded by thelightttsyststsyys

I have heard of The Weeknd before, but never listened to any of his music. “Blinding lights” is a jam. I might give this a relisten and check out more of his discography in the future. I think he is very talented but there is something about the music that just doesn’t fully resonate with me. I feel like I’m on the cusp of fully enjoying it. I do think it belongs on a list of albums people should listen to.

I mean, I like The Weeknd but he isn't my favorite

Oh well. The epitome of 2010s/2020s manufactured, cold-sounding mainstream pop, trading in easily digestible songs with predictable chord sequences, cinematic washes of atmospheric synths (partly provided by Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin or Tame Impala's Kevin Parker), along with fashionable beats and crisp programming -- either catchy eighties-sounding ones as exemplified by Max Martin's contributions to the project, or more menacing trap-oriented patterns created by excellent hip hop producers such as Metro Boomin. An impressive blockbuster cast for sure, adding to The Weeknd's usual core team of contributors... But with such a stellar roster of producers around Abel Tesfaye, it's no wonder the Canadian R'n'B singer's auto-tuned vocal presence often comes off as stifled, perfunctory and mechanic at times, as if crushed by impersonal logistical constraints hampering productive spontaneity or genuinely interesting melodic sparks. This flaw is especially noticeable in the first half of this LP (which many "critics" still see as his magnum opus, in spite of its obvious shortcomings as an album). The Weeknd and his team of producers go as hard as they can for bass-heavy despondent moods and hazy atmosphere in the record's first leg (presented before the hits on the second half, but more on that later...), hoping to give an artsy sheen akin to the one of Frank Ocean's *Channel Orange* to the whole thing -- and unfortunately without ever providing the proper dynamics and relatable overtones most Frank Ocean songs effortlessly convey. Those mixed results give the feeling that Tesfaye often ad-libs or improvises his vocal lines around the chords' tonic notes (not so far from the way Future does it, for instance), and it's therefore a little difficult to sense what's really at stake in those early songs. Too often, the glitchy music just harmlessly drones, and there's not much that Abel can do to provide genuine thrills over this indistinct backdrop. "Hardest To Love"'s awkwardly syncopated, UK garage-adjacent drum part also doesn't help -- as if that strange drum programming sacrificed pop efficiency for so-called "originality", yet ultimately failing on both counts. This failure probably stems from the hackneyed, sickly-sweet nature of the song proper, along with its tired clichés about heartbreak, which never justify any sort of seemingly "sophisticated" arrangements in the first place. Same with next track "Scared To Live", basically. Of course, you can still argue that there are discernible melodical elements in those two compositions, as naive-sounding as those elements are. Because, even more crucially, the sound textures displayed elsewhere on the album's initial run most often take over genuine musicality anyway. It's all nightly neon gloss and surface effects, admittedly shiny once in a while -- as in opener "Alone Again" and follow-up track "Too Late -- but also a little too complacent, conventional, and even fully pointless at times, as in borefest "Snowchild". "Pyramids", this is decidedly not. As for Tesfaye, he is no Frank Ocean for sure. He's obviously not interested in bringing warmth or humanity to his digitally-enhanced vocal performance -- almost as if he didn't care about the songs. And neither is he Michael Jackson in this record, which is surprising given that Jacko had been his obvious model on an artistic viewpoint so far -- to the point of pastiche or mimicry on some older hit singles. Abel's trademark falsetto sounds too demure and distant for that on *After Hours*, implying that he probably just wanted to change his stride for this particular album to counter that old comparison with the idol of his life. Fair enough, but what is it that we *do* have instead? Well, it's unclear... Tesfaye's computerized act doesn't suggest any relentless robotic intent either, the way artists like Kraftwerk, Gary Numan or former collaborators Daft Punk once exemplified it. So you're just caught in some undecided soft-sounding and conventional dusk between man and machine, instantly disposable and irremediably inert. You feel like current AIs could have written this music at times. But you never feel such effect was consciously looked for. Not that this impression could exclusively be viewed under a negative light. In a way, said inertia and mindless artificially are also an apt way to musically convey the lyrical themes also found in this LP: isolation, paranoia, lust, relationship issues, self-centered concerns and the likes... More than ever, Abel sounds like a lost and disillusioned soul imprisoned in the solipsistic ivory tower money and fame has put him in, desperately looking for meaning and failing to do so. Those lyrics certainly don't call for empathy -- the man chose to live a life like this after all. And with copious amounts of sex and drugs helping Tesfaye find his pleasures where he can (whether he or his pop star persona), I guess he's doing alright enough compared to us plebes anyway... Interestingly, the song where Abel addresses those topics in the most straightforward manner is the one where he seems to wake up from the slumber of the record's first side at last. Oh the irony. Metro Boomin-produced "Heartless" is indeed the first item in a string of gems which almost goes all the way to the conclusion of the album, and its bouncy trap flourishes and menacing-yet-memorable chorus succeed in leaving an imprint that was lacking in the album's first leg. Following it, you have "Faith", a supposed deep cut with quite intense lyrics about death and addiction -- whose spiky synth pop instrumentation actually fares far better than the one found in many previous The Weeknd singles. Speaking of singles, the track that follows is none other than "Blinding Lights", the new-wave-inspired hit that has become The Weeknd's signature song for all the good reasons (that synth riff is simply infectious!). Next is "In Your Eyes", and yes, its horn section, white funk arrangements and major harmonies are cheesy as f*ck. Yet it's hard to hate the tune if you manage to convince yourself this here is indeed a song which directly came from the eighties -- one that you've heard countless times on the radio before, and that you've brought yourself to love through the sheer power of nostalgia. And "Save Your Tears" pulls off the same feat right after, with a slightly more driven energy also leaning on dream pop flourishes this time around, evoking some platonic ideal of what "eighties pop" songs should sound like in 2020. For once, Max Martin can be congratulated for his input. When it's so well crafted, standardized pop can certainly change your outlook on blatantly commercial music. This doesn't redeem the album's flaws, but at least it gives you the impression you're not wasting your time anymore. After a lesser song going back to the muddled turf of the album's first side, actually labelled as an "interlude" in spite of its normal length (translate: they knew it wasn't good enough), the title-track "After Hours" offers the last of many highlights in the album. Here, The Weeknd proves he can get "atmospheric" without losing the melodic thread too much, and the obsessive nature of the rhythm patterns does help the listener getting hooked. If only they had applied that formula earlier, especially for the first songs... One last drowsy "experimental" track later ("Until I Bleed Out", where the Oneohtrix Point Never and Metro Boomin respective patinas can be easily pinpointed, once again), and *After Hours* is over. Right after the album fades out, a question surges, though: what do you remember from it, even after several listens? Well that it's basically a half-baked EP to which a "greatest hits" one has been added so as to create a full album. In the dead of the night, a string of famous singles suggesting the cohesion of a Spotify playlist instantly erases the memory of the conceptual artistry clumsily displayed before. And so it all ends up with vampires counting their hundred dollars bills in a corporate hotel suite instead of seducing you. The album's very name and its artwork suggested a real gothic adventure instead. Alas, the adventure is short-lived. Guess all that blood on the man's lips was just fake after all. 2.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 3 7.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the production and musicianship + 2.5 for the artistry) Coda: Some contemporary or near-contemporary pop / R'n'B artists (such as Britney Spears, Pharell Williams or Drake) will be mostly remembered for their iconic singles, and buying a "best of" LP of their works is already enough for most people, if they buy any record at all (I do have a CD of The Weeknd's *The Highlights* at home by the way, bought for a couple of bucks / quid / euros at a second hand record shop). And other artists and musicians will always be remembered for their legendary albums. Guess in which category I consider The Weeknd fits in... Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 10 Albums from the users list I *might* include in mine later on: 12 Albums from the users list I won't include in mine: 20 (including this one)

Annoying. 2/5

I remember seeing advertisements for this album on television. Therefore, I find this way too 'in the face'. Also, the excess of way to obvious autotune bothers me a bit too much. I bobbed my head on 'Blinding Lights', but that's almost it.

Ik weet dat dit heel hip en happening is, maar ik vind het toch allemaal iets te gelikt.

I tried, I really did, but this just isn't interesting to me. 2 stars.

I do not care for this and that’s o.k.

Instantly forgettable

2 hits and the rest the same repetitive female vocal sound

I liked Blinding Lights, but this album was an incredibly disappointing listen after all the hype. It hardly ever changes gear and feels bland.

can see the appeal, not for me

I love the weeknd's production, but he is just so whiny.

Gross, dude. I get that he’s got some bangers, and he puts Canada on the map a bit more so that’s cool. But this album sucks. It doesn’t even showcase him at his peak of public appeal.

This is a singles record. The hits are hits, the rest blends together in sameness.

The music is interesting but these are just the most insipid lyrics I've ever heard.

nope

Listening to this is feels like inhaling tonnes of microplastics and preservatives. All the songs are either the guy singing like he's getting chased by a Scooby Doo monster over FL Studio preset trap beats, or the obligatory "obvious radio hit bait". Not a fan.