In “Save Your Tears,” it’s the descending synth line in the chorus that emphasizes his laments, as he sings, “You could’ve asked me why I broke your heart/ You could’ve told me that you fell apart/ But you walked past me like I wasn’t there/ And just pretended like you didn’t care.” Like all of the best Weeknd songs, Tesfaye manages to make himself the hero and villain at the same time. The Weeknd has an inimitable ability to conjure catharsis from the subtlest accents.
On this song, he’s comforting a woman while she parties – something The Weeknd is no stranger to. “High For This” ushered listeners into Tesfaye’s world as the opening track on House Of Balloons, a perfectly brooding, thunderous intro that readies you for a rollercoaster of emotions. Luckily for us, the song is an absolute classic from the duo, built around their personalities but with enough tricks and flair to be entirely fresh.
Two of the biggest stars in the world linked up for a massive anthem, set to dominate the charts from sheer wattage alone. Once The Weeknd and Post Malone started teasing a collaborative track, it was bound to be a hit. The R&B crooner makes the song uniquely his own by leaning more into the drunk aspect than the “love” part, showing that he can spin a web, even on a song that wasn’t originally his. Remember when every artist was churning out remixes of Beyoncé’s “Drunk In Love”? Tesfaye threw his hat in the ring in 2014, and his voice fit the track like a glove. The Weeknd is no stranger using two-part structures, or even songs that serve as a call-and-response for one another, and “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” is the perfect example of his innate narrative skills, as he chronicles a party that turns dark over a Siouxsie And The Banshees sample.
– Sam ArmstrongĮssentially two songs in one, “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” opens with a spacey synth intro before building into an electrifying second half, giving us two contrasting sides to the party scene. Over a song co-written in part by Oneohtrix Point Never, Carrey muses on life and death, asking, “And how many grudges did you take to your grave?/ When you weren’t liked or followed, how did you behave?/ Was it often a dissonant chord you were strumming?/ Were you ever in tune with the song life was humming?” It’s a fascinating way to end the album, and the sort of risk only a revolutionary artist like The Weeknd could pull off. Look, “Phantom Regret By Jim” isn’t necessarily a Weeknd track, but his brilliant decision to use actor Jim Carrey to narrate the album’s end makes the album closer all the more impactful. The chorus is a thesis statement of sorts for After Hours as Abel sings, “Why? ‘Cause I’m heartless/ And I’m back to my ways ’cause I’m heartless/ All this money and this pain got me heartless/ Low life for life ’cause I’m heartless.” – Sam Armstrong “Heartless” was the first taste of The Weeknd’s After Hours era, introducing fans to that chaotic, raunchy energy that would go on to define his most successful era to date.
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