My Album Review of Hurry Up Tomorrow

Well, here it is. The final album by The Weeknd.

I would consider The Weeknd my favorite artist of all time, and it’s not even close. I have nearly every song of his added to my playlist, and there isn’t a single project that I don’t pull some sort of enjoyment from. It has been a pleasure listening and relistening to his discography and just seeing his evolution from the early dark R&B of the Trilogy mixtapes to the synthpop of his two most recent projects until now, After Hours and Dawn FM. And I will say, those two albums are what I’d consider his best. They have more of a full vision and a concept going for them, and the 80s synthpop sound just works with Abel’s voice so well, while also retaining that dark atmosphere he has always had. It’s evolution in the best way possible, because despite him taking on a new sound, through his voice alone you know that he is still present.

But I cannot lie, I was worried for this last album. Not only because it was the closing to a Trilogy with the first 2 parts being some of his best work, but also this was the ending to a character that has been around for some people’s whole lives, and there was so much pressure to stick the landing. And I myself was worried because although I enjoyed the singles, they all sounded different, and I wasn’t sure if this album would have the cohesion of his last two. But what kept my faith was the songs he performed live at shows as teasers for the album: Wake Me Up, Take Me Back To LA, Open Hearts. Those songs were some of the best songs that I have ever heard by him, and was excited to see them in their full form when the album released.

But another wave of worry struck when I saw the tracklist. Very few artists can have a 22 track album that is consistently good all of the way through. Plus, my favorite of the singles, Dancing In The Flames, was not on the album. Also, the album cover changed, but although it didn’t really line up with the rest of the trilogy, it looked a lot better and more cinematic. But if there was anyone I had faith in, it was The Weeknd. This man has been building this character for years, and he wasn’t just going to fumble at the very end. And after listening to the album for what seemed like 1,000 times over, I can say with certainty that he did not. In fact, this album contains some of his best work yet.

The Weeknd after losing his voice and canceling the show at SoFi Stadium in 2022 apparently rewrote and edited this album from what it originally was going to be. And I think that moment gave him some perspective on his career, and what this character represents not only to his audience, who have been following him for years, but himself. Who is Abel Tesfaye? Who is The Weeknd? How would this character reach paradise? You see, the narrative of the new trilogy follows Dante’s Inferno. After Hours being Hell, Dawn FM being Purgatory, and Hurry Up Tomorrow being Heaven, or Paradise. So it was clear even before the album started that this album would be different not only sonically, but lyrically as well. In fact, I would say that this album has some of Abel’s best lyricism yet. When you listen to The Weeknd’s music, it’s normally for the melodies or the production. But it was clear that Abel and his producers wanted to give everything 100% for his last effort. He addresses his mother, his father, his audience, himself, EVERYTHING and how that has impacted his life and his reflection back on it all, as he steps into this next chapter. And a big part of that as well, is his faith. At multiple points on the album, Abel addresses God, and asks Him to be his guidance in his journey into the afterlife. Compare this to lyrics on Snowchild “I used to pray when I was sixteen” or on Faith where he sings “I lost my faith, I’m losing my religion every day”. This clearly shows The Weeknd’s progression as a character even just in this trilogy alone.

But the progression is not only present in his lyricism, but also in this album’s sound. Yes, the album still retains those sounds of 80s synthpop, but Abel also calls back to his early albums like Kiss Land and Beauty Behind the Madness, including vocal samples and more cinematic production. In fact, the entire middle section of the album reminds me of those earlier albums and even Trilogy, and kind of doing his melodic rap flow that he used to do while having these R&B beats in the background. But the songs have a different sound palate, sounding brighter and more enlightening. Even the songs that draw on the 80s sound don’t feel like the ones on his previous two albums because they contain more evolved lyricism and different sounds.

The album begins with Wake Me Up, easily being one of his best openers. The first half of the track has this heavenly ascent to it, while lyrical talking about his fall from where he used to be, saying that “all I have is my legacy”. He also says that there’s “no afterlife” as well. These lyrics clearly signify his mindset that is soon to change as we progress through the album. The track in the second half becomes a groovy 80s track, leaning heavily on his Michael Jackson influences, at points almost sounding like Thriller. The track then transitions into Cry For Me, which is more darker, and the production definitely took inspiration from the production on D.D. The trap instrumentation on the back half of this track courtesy of Metro Boomin and the stellar hook just make this song come together so well as a whole. We then get another transition into an interlude, I Can’t F*****g Sing, which is probably a reference to him losing his voice at SoFi in 2022. Then we get yet again ANOTHER transition into São Paulo. And here’s the thing, there are transitions all across this album, the one thing that I hoped he retained from Dawn FM, as those transitions were incredible as well. I just love when artists do transitions on their albums, it makes their projects come together so much more cohesively, and can even elevate the singles in the context of the album to a new level. And while I liked São Paulo as a single, I can say with the transitions before and after the song, the song is improved so much more. And the track even by itself is Abel trying something new and stepping into the Brazilian Funk genre, with a feature from Anitta that acts as sort of a sample throughout the track as the beats switch and the song gains more energy by the minute. But I love how The Weeknd on his LAST ALBUM is still trying new things, which a lot of artists probably wouldn’t do, Until We’re Skin & Bones after continues the song and has some outstanding synth work, almost feeling like you’re at a vibrant lightshow. The next track, Baptized In Fear, is a slower break from the more high energy first 3 songs, but does not dip in quality in the slightest. The track’s steady pace and the lyrics describing Abel’s fears and motivation to push through them just give this track an atmosphere I’ve never heard on a song by him before. The track at the end has building synths and the repeating vocals of “voices’ll tell me that I should carry on” that transition into the dance beat of Open Hearts, which in my opinion is the best transition in his whole discography. Which is fitting, because Open Hearts is one of his best songs ever. Everything works so well on this song, the synths on the post-chorus, the heartfelt lyricism, the driving beat, it’s just perfect in every way. Opening Night is a shorter track but has great melodies and synths as well. Reflections Laughing is one of the lower points on the album for me, I like the begging with the acoustics and the melodies, but the long phone call that interrupts the middle of the track and the low pitched Travis Scott verse that follow feel kind of shoved in personally. Enjoy The Show also has a subpar feature from Future, but I like The Weeknd’s parts and the sample quite a bit. Given Up On Me is a confusing track, simply because it switches up so many times, even though I like all of the sections of the song. But I feel like the reason for the more lo-fi feeling at the end of the song is that on the track he is talking to God, and asking Him why He still cares for him, and why He just won’t let him go. And the reason for the more ambient instrumental on the back half is that he is talking directly to God in heaven, and He is listening. I Can’t Wait To Get There is probably my favorite out of the tracks with the vocal samples, and the Ibanez bass and laid back feeling to the track makes it almost feel like a song off of To Pimp a Butterfly, but with Abel’s twist on it. After a lot of more chill R&B type tracks, we get an absolute banger with Timeless, with one of the best Carti verses in recent years and Abel bringing his all as well. The beat courtesy of The Neptunes and Mike Dean’s synth work on the front and back half of the track just make it feel complete, and make the track so fun to listen to. Niagara Falls has a more Toronto type of sound, almost sounding like something off of Take Care, with a lot of space for the vocal samples and the synths that compliment them, almost sounding like the synths at the beginning of Popular. The end of the track though, transitions beautifully into one of the best tracks on the album and of Abel’s best songs lyrically, Take Me Back To LA. This song is almost a second part to Escape From LA. But on this song, he talks about the regrets he had in that event, and how he lost his soul and a core piece of his identify when he left the city. The beat on this track is simple but so effective for the story Abel wants to tell. Big Sleep is maybe the weakest track on the album for me, but I like the Daft Punk type vocals on this track and the lyrics, where he talks about death and the afterlife. Give Me Mercy talks about his faith once again and asking God to be forgiving towards him for his dark past. The hook is one of the catchiest on the album, and has a great sound palate. Drive is another song that talks about his faith, this time asking God to guide him in the right direction so he can reach afterlife, while the vocals and synths build throughout the song. The Abyss is a much darker song, talking about his desire to reach the afterlife, and if he doesn’t try he won’t meet his goal. The second half of the song has in my opinion, the best feature on the album with Lana Del Rey almost tapping into some Born To Die inflections, elevating the track so much. Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd’s music I have felt always complemented each other so well, and having her as the last feature in his discography ever is just perfect. Red Terror sonically is nothing new on the album, but lyrically intrigues me a lot more. There are two interpretations I have with this song: he is either talking from The Weeknd’s perspective to Abel Tesfaye, or from his mother’s perspective to a young Abel. But either way, the song is phenomenal, and completed with the spoken word passage at the end with a similar feel to Every Angel Is Terrifying. And I get absolute chills when he speaks the last line: “call me by the old, familiar name”. Without a Warning talks about his struggle with fame, how much he sacrificed for it, and resisting the temptation to fall back into his old ways to reach heaven. The outro of this song is one of his best ever, singing “how do I know tomorrow’s coming”, emphasizing the theme of the album and the following, final track, Hurry Up Tomorrow. And I could not think of a more perfect ending to the album, the new trilogy, The Weeknd’s discography and The Weeknd character as a whole. The song is a huge ballad almost reminiscent of Purple Rain, reflecting on his whole life. His father leaving, his relationship with his mother, and his past. The Weeknd puts his temptation and everything that kept him from reaching God behind him, and says that he doesn’t want to feel this pain anymore. That he wants to reach heaven and the afterlife, and be reborn tomorrow as his true self, Abel Tesfaye. This ending makes me cry everytime, because it’s a song of transformation and new beginning after years of torment and temptation into the darkness. It’s Abel being accepted into the light, and becoming a whole new person after years of perseverance. But ultimately, the reason for the song making me emotional is that he went out with a bang. You can tell through the sheer high quality of this album that Abel put his blood, sweat, and tears into making the perfect album to end it all on. His final album as The Weeknd being one of his best and most cohesive, and how he stepped up his game so much just to make it happen just shows how great of an artist he is, and how he will be remembered for generations as one of the best artists of all time.