The Weeknd // My Dear Melancholy

The Weeknd

My Dear Melancholy

XO Records

4/5 Stars

At six songs and 24 minutes, is The Weeknd's latest album really an album? Is it more of an EP? A mini-LP? Does it even matter? One of several surprise releases to drop this season with only a week's notice, My Dear Melancholy is an intentional return to form meant to please fans of The Weeknd both old and new. Stylistically, it acts as a midpoint between the artist's beloved Trilogy mixtapes and 2016 pop-smash Starboy, splicing the smoky, atmospheric production of the former with the instant hooks of the latter. One of the album's strongest examples is the beat drop and subsequent chorus of opening track "Call Out My Name," which wastes no time signifying the return of an R&B-focused Weeknd. Even at six tracks, My Dear Melancholy manages to experiment with tempos and textures throughout, speeding things up on album highlight and obvious single choice "Wasted Times," which offers an irresistible chopped and screwed bridge of, "I ain't got no business catching feelings." My Dear Melancholy is the rarest form of fan service that actually incorporates the artist's past just as well as their present, revealing thrilling opportunities for the future. — Aaron Mook