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Sound Judgment: The Weeknd - Thursday

4 out of 5 on the black hand side

Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Updated: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 16:09

Almost five months after the breakthrough mixtape "House of Balloons" that featured songs like "High For This," currently in rotation on HBO's "Entourage," the Canadian phenomenon Abel Tesfaye, known to most as The Weeknd, dropped "Thursday."

The new album is part two of his trilogy of mixtapes to be released on the independent OVO/XO brand. The album was much-anticipated, as evidenced by his Twitter following, which includes this writer, who faithfully tweeted "Abel" every Thursday, hoping for and sometimes demanding the new album's release.

On Aug. 18 The Weeknd gave his fans what they yearned for. I was shocked by the mixtape cover. It featured a bright display of colors, a far cry from the mysterious, almost gothic "House of Balloons" cover. This somewhat foreshadows the musical/vocal differences between the works.

"HOB" focuses on The Weeknd's vocal superiority and mastery of sound effects, while perfectly capturing the world of an insomniac's nightlife.

He seems to open up more on "Thursday." The track features more catchy hooks and up-tempo beats. Featured on "Thursday" is Abel's fellow Canadian and mentor Drake. "The Zone" features nicely composed sound effects and vocals as always from The Weeknd, and a monster verse from Drake. These two artists seem to push one another to new levels, evident in "The Zone" as well as in "Trust Issues," where the two take turns, verse for verse. They compliment each other almost impeccably. I would give Thursday a 4 out of 5.

Diehard fans, don't mentally backhand me without hearing my reasoning. "Thursday" is a great mixtape that you will neither grow tired of nor be disappointed in. However, The Weeknd set the bar extremely high with "HOB," and fell just a little short of that bar by minutely changing his style on "Thursday."

All in all this is still a great mixtape that has potential to be in your car or iPod every day.

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