For Ear Sake

The Weeknd - House of Balloons (2011)

Genres: Electronic, Pop, R&B

Just when most people thought Drake & Justin Bieber was all Canada had to offer (far from true), The Weeknd surprised everyone with their free mixtape House of Balloons. Music videos, lingering download links, and various tweets about The Weeknd suddenly stormed the Internet like an unforeseen storm attacking a cloudless day. Some may think, "when is a sudden storm ever good?" Well, the storm The Weeknd rode in on happens to be one.

House of Balloons is surprisingly good; especially considering this isn't their debut album, but instead a free mixtape. The precise vocals and production makes most people wonder who makeup The Weeknd. But wonder no more. The Toronto based artists Abel Tesfaye (vocalist) and Doc McKinney (producer) are the individuals responsible for this killer mixtape. The duo perfectly fuses R&B and elements of Electronica; which is a sound that has most critics raving to be the future sound of R&B. Not only does their sound differ from traditional R&B, their lyrical content is known to be "disturbing". The album cover alone is a sign that this mixtape is unconventional.

"The group's penchant for druggy atmospherics is mirrored in their lyrical content, which is overtly sexual, narcotics-focused, and occasionally downright frightening. Debauchery is obviously nothing new in R&B, but this takes it a step further-- the drugs are harder, the come-ons feel predatory and lecherous, and the general feeling is self-hating rather than celebratory. On opener "High for This", Tesfaye handholds a partner through some strange sex act, singing, "Trust me, girl, you wanna be high for this." "Glass Table Girls" is pretty clearly about doing coke. Because we don't know these guys, it's hard to say whether these are real-life tales or imaginative storytelling-- you want to think the latter, but ultimately the anonymity makes it seem more disturbing." - Pitchfork

House of Balloons has been one the main rotations in my car for a few weeks now; it's not only fitting for the warm weather, but it's also a sound my ears have been craving for. Cool Summer nights of cruising on highways with all of the windows down is well spent with tunes provided by The Weeknd. House of Balloons features 9 tracks with a duration of a few seconds short of 50 minutes. There's enough material to satisfy anyone, and their lengthy tracks should be appetizing to individuals that look for songs longer than the popular duration of most songs today (around or about 3 minutes). "High For This", "What You Need", and "The Party & The After Party" are a few of my personal favorites from the mixtape. Even though these 3 tracks get abused with the replay button, the mixtape as a whole is a good listen.

Their lyrical content is unlike any other material found within the R&B genre, and their production is dark, gritty, and raw. House of Balloons has the potential to be a R&B/Electronic fan's dream. This stellar mixtape by The Weeknd is highly recommended to individuals that aren't afraid to listen to R&B/Electronic tunes that discuss everything from sex to drugs. Luckily for all of the individuals out there rummaging for free downloads, this "shouldn't be free but is amazingly free" mixtape is waiting for you to download it, unzip it, and listen to it as loud as you possibly can. The download link is including in the album cover above, so give it a click and you'll be on your download-way in a matter of seconds. I've also included the bizarre video for their track "The Morning" below. Enjoy!