By Graham Glassner
Pop megastar The Weeknd released his fifth studio album, Dawn FM, back in January of this year. The album was a huge success, as the star built on his hits from After Hours (his fourth studio album from 2019) that featured more 80s- style music and a revamped lyrical composition about “losing to love.” This album felt like a cohesive story and it really impressed me how diverse the song selection was and how it really epitomized what The Weeknd is at his very best.
From the outset with its eponymous title track, Dawn FM by The Weeknd feels like strapping into a spaceship about to lift off as the Canadian singer-songwriter asks, “After the night is dark, is it dark all alone?”
Jim Carrey simulates a radio host for the song as the record, a radio dj guiding the The Weeknd’s synth pop 80’s tribute is a trend following his previous becoming more commonplace in the wake of fellow-Canadian Tory Lanez’s Alone After Prom released only a month prior to The Weeknd’s album.
Track 2, Gasoline, is a poppy love song starting out with a techno beat, which suits the singer’s voice as he declares his 5 a.m. love for someone. The chorus compliments the verses well, as it seems as if he’s coming out of his standard “singing about drugs” phase.
Track 7, Here We Go Again ft. Tyler, the Creator, features the first rapping heard on the LP so far as he raps about his love for the new girlfriend. Throwing shade at his ex, he mocks her, saying that she’s paired with someone “basic, faceless.” Bragging that his new girlfriend is a movie star to prove that he’s better off seems to be his method of coping with his anger. Tyler, the Creator delivers in the second verse and adds tremendously to the song’s mystical and jealous feel.
Track 10, Starry Eyes, is beautiful and I love it straight from the beginning and his confession of love. His lyricism makes you think, especially as a powerful rhythm takes over the chorus, where he asks if you will let him love you. It feels like a flashback of failed love as he reflects his cynicism.
Quincy Jones did an incredible job producing and mastering Dawn FM. I was pleasantly surprised by the 80’s poppy feel of the tracks and The Weeknd’s voice flows smoothly over synth beats. Jim Carrey’s role as a narrator in the story of Dawn FM only added character and helped develop the piece as a whole.
I would give Dawn FM an 8.5/10 overall. While it’s a well executed concept by The Weeknd, the first half of the album was noticeably better than the second. I hope The Weeknd will transition out of his 80s pop phase on his next album, as the genre is getting oversaturated by both him and other artists in the industry.