Beauty Behind The Madness - The Weeknd (2015)

September through the years: from my September 2015 list, also featuring Destroyer, Eighth Blackbird, and The Arcs

The Weeknd had found good success with his early mixtape material and his first full album by doing a lot of his own production and projecting a larger-than-life persona that gloried in the rough side of life.

This record is kind of a transition from that personality into the big-market entertainer he is today. The songs here are full of features, produced by a wide array of producers, and appeared on soundtracks and as singles before they showed up here.

I feel like the next album would be his full transition into the entertainment world, but this is an interesting middle ground.

Tracks I Liked

The Hills - a fantastically nihilistic ode to the “Weeknd Lifestyl” brand. Bumpin’ bass. My favorite production on this record

Can’t Feel My Face - a banger that draws on 80s Michael Jackson and prefigured some of his bigger hits to come. Never forget that the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards once let this song about doing cocaine be nominated for Favorite Song.