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Hurry Up Tomorrow | Album Review

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3 days ago

February 2, 2025

Again in 2022, contemporary off the discharge of Daybreak FM, The Weeknd posed a query to his Twitter/X followers in a now-deleted submit: “I ponder…Do you know you’re experiencing a brand new trilogy?”. Referring to the albums: After Hours, Daybreak FM, and the then untitled third entry Hurry Up Tomorrow. The singer would stay tight-lipped about his upcoming album, dropping visible teasers final summer season and performing in São Paulo and Australia, utilizing his performances and a handful of singles to start out this new period.

It ought to be famous that Hurry Up Tomorrow additionally signifies the top of Abel Tesfaye’s tenure as “The Weeknd”. After 14 years of chart-topping successes, The Canadian crooner is saying goodbye to the mysterious persona he launched us to method again in 2010. To not point out the discharge of a function movie based mostly on this new album, slated to launch Could sixteenth (To a U.S.-only viewers, sadly). With that in thoughts, you might be assured that the expectations for Hurry Up Tomorrow are fairly excessive.

Appearing because the grand finale to his 2020s album trilogy and The Weeknd persona, Hurry Up Tomorrow is an operatic enigma of an album. Showcasing much more exploration of sounds than ever earlier than, full with arguably a few of Abel’s finest singing so far and thematic parts which are a becoming conclusion to the artist’s eccentric profession.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is far more assorted in manufacturing kinds than earlier albums, much more so than Daybreak FM, whose sound was the closest factor to experimentation Abel had carried out till now. Abel largely trades the glitzy radio pop he’s perfected previously and presents up obscure kinds that see him push his sonic capabilities. “Cry For Me” makes use of distorted synths and drums that give a really aggressive nature to the music, earlier than ending with a stable trap-influenced outro. The acoustic-laden “Reflections Laughing” echoes the guitars of “Rolling Stone” however with an anthemic tone with the assistance of choir-like vocals.

Hurry Up Tomorrow can also be structured extremely effectively. With extra of the in-your-face, attention-grabbing songs within the first half of the album, and the atmospheric/cinema-quality tracks being the main focus within the second half. I additionally want to say the quantity of transitions unfold all through numerous interludes and songs, it makes your complete album really feel like one seamless expertise from begin to end.

Longtime collaborators corresponding to Oneohtrix Level By no means, DaHeala, Mike Dean and Metro Boomin take heart stage right here. Every of their intricacies might be heard all through like OPN’s glitchy electronics (“Opening Night time”) or Dean’s heavy use of Moog synths (“Crimson Terror”). The largest surprises nonetheless come from Metro Boomin and Giorgio Moroder. The sample-heavy “Given Up On Me”, is a 2-part banger that begins as a futuristic trap-heavy anthem, earlier than slowing issues right down to a low-key piano ballad, flexing Metro’s manufacturing muscle tissues. Giorgio then again comes by with Scarface ranges of drama with songs like “Large Sleep”. His affect might be felt all through the album’s again half as Hurry Up Tomorrow attracts to an in depth.

As a singer, Abel’s voice has by no means sounded higher than on Hurry Up Tomorrow. His vocal runs in direction of the top of “Take Me Again To LA” add extra emotional high quality to an already intimate music. His falsetto matches completely with the retro R&B-inspired “I Can’t Wait To Get There”. There are even some minor callbacks to his Trilogy period like his deepened vocals on numerous songs, nearly like one last return to his previous self.

I can also’t overlook to say the handful of hidden visitor options. We already know of Anitta and Playboi Carti on the beforehand launched singles “São Paulo” and “Timeless” respectively. New company come within the type of Travis Scott (“Reflections Laughing”), Future (“Take pleasure in The Present”, “Given Up On Me”) and Lana Del Rey (“The Abyss”). Fortunately none of those options steal the highlight from Abel, neither is their inclusion meaningless. All of them convey a bonus to every music, particularly Lana whose vocals cap “The Abyss” in an angelic method.

Lyrically, Hurry Up Tomorrow finishes the “After Hours” Trilogy with some mature storytelling. Abel explores existentialism and actuality within the opener “Wake Me Up”, questioning if his demons are actually chasing him or not. His anxieties seize him in “Baptized In Worry” and “Reflections Laughing”. Echoing his fears after shedding his voice in 2022, he feels disgrace and guilt with strains like (“Determine within the nook laughing at me. Water fill my lungs, imaginative and prescient blurry.”). Questioning whether or not he ought to surrender his Weeknd persona, or proceed to please his followers.

He ponders the thought of dying, whether or not it’s the dying of affection in “Cry For Me” and “Open Hearts”, or his bodily dying in “Take pleasure in The Present”. It’s eye-opening and fairly truthfully, miserable to listen to Abel really feel so defeated: (“I don’t wanna make it previous thirty-four, and when the curtains name, I hope you mourn. However if you happen to don’t, I hope you benefit from the fuckin’ present.”).

Nonetheless, issues take a flip considerably following “Take Me Again To LA” the place Abel reminisces on his authentic aspirations of going to Cali, and his childhood rising up in Scarborough. From this level on the album turns into extremely reflective, self-conscious even. He begs God for mercy within the aptly titled “Give Me Mercy”, forgiving him for his previous (“Give me mercy such as you do and forgive me such as you do, hope that you just see me.”). He makes his method in direction of “Tomorrow” on the music “Drive” and accepts his last destiny on the album’s title monitor.

The sweeping ballad ends the album and signifies Abel strolling into the sunshine of Heaven, saying goodbye to The Weeknd for good. He yearns to be free from the ache and guilt he subjected himself to since 2010 (“I would like heaven after I die, I wanna change. I would like the ache no extra, no extra, no extra.”) But the music’s dramatic finale finally ends up segwaying proper again to his very first music, “Excessive For This”. Maybe alluding that The Weeknd could by no means really die? That his persona will without end be reborn and die once more? It’s an ambiguous strategy to finish what’s already a monumental album.

There are some minor elements to Hurry Up Tomorrow that don’t sit effectively with me. At a whopping 22 tracks, a number of songs do are likely to overstay (and understay) their welcome fairly a bit. Specifically “Niagara Falls” and “Take pleasure in The Present” specifically. Within the grand scheme of issues although, they by no means took away from the sheer high quality that The Weeknd possesses right here. Hurry Up Tomorrow is larger than the sum of its elements, and fairly truthfully among the finest albums of this trilogy and his discography for my part.

I’ve nothing however nice issues to say about Hurry Up Tomorrow. This was an incredible hear from begin to end, and certainly one of few 20+ monitor albums that managed to carry my consideration all through your complete run time. Manufacturing-wise, the album’s variation in kinds shook issues up and allowed the producers and Abel to push themselves sonically. The general construction, options and singing had been executed effectively. In the meantime, the lyrics and themes felt becoming for what will be the final hurrah for The Weeknd.

With all that in thoughts, and regardless of some minor gripes with the monitor lengths, Hurry Up Tomorrow is nothing in need of superb as one full bundle. Which is why I’m score it a really robust 9.5 out of 10. I don’t assume there was a greater method for Abel to say goodbye to The Weeknd than this. It’s like all the pieces he labored on was main as much as this cinematic and operatic finale. This last bow was very effectively definitely worth the wait, and can certainly go down as certainly one of his finest albums by far.

Remaining Score: 9.5/10

Favorite Tracks: Wake Me Up, Cry For Me, Baptized In Worry, Open Hearts, Reflections Laughing, Given Up On Me, Take Me Again To LA, Give Me Mercy, The Abyss, Hurry Up Tomorrow.