REVIEW: The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness

Ever since 2012’s dazzling mixtape House of Balloons, Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye has painted himself as the dangerous, damaged romantic. Beauty Behind The Madness, his second proper album, dips and smudges a little more darkness onto the canvas.
The resident strengths are all here: precise pop balladry, grimy snares, and Tesfaye’s fluttery, emotive voice caressing your ears with very bad thoughts. “Real Life” begins the affair in a familiar key, with orchestral strings, sweeping synths, and reverb-drenched drums. But from there, Beauty Behind The Madness quickly displays a welcoming and new-found buoyancy—from the hand claps on “Losers” to the EDM touches of “Can’t Feel My Face”—that sounds tailored for Top 40 ears.
This is no accident. With guest appearances by Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey and production by Kanye West and Max Martin (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry), Beauty Behind The Madness is Tesfaye’s strongest bid yet for mainstream acceptance—one that seemingly began with a guest verse on Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder” and continued through “Earned It”, penned for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Tesfaye all but confesses this mission statement on “Tell Your Friends”: “Last year I did all the politicin'/This year I'm all focused on the vision.”
The vision is often familiar: languid, cinematic soundscapes and high drama storytelling. Yet the heady experimentation is not without its missteps. “The Hills” finds Tesfaye in a low vocal register that does nothing to flatter him. When he finally flicks back into his signature MJ-style tenor, it’s almost a relief. And the shred-worthy Eighties keytar solo on an otherwise pristine “Shameless” is simply…well, refer to the song title.
Elsewhere, “Dark Times” finds sensitive folkie Ed Sheeran in way over his head: his tough guy act rubs up against Tesfaye’s exquisite nihilism like a couple of woefully mismatched drinking buddies. Mercifully, Lana Del Rey’s guest turn on the following track “Prisoner” redeems the mismatch. Her noirish flair plays perfectly off Tesfaye in their portrayal of starry-eyed/star-crossed lovers.
With each new project, The Weeknd reveals a talent too strong for mere mixtape fodder and too bombastic to remain under the radar. If Beauty Behind The Madness finds Tesfaye collecting an armload of Moon Men at next year's VMA's? Well, maybe he's earned it.