Escape from LA

★★★½ 

The vibe and aesthetic of the album gets slightly repetitive and the first case of that being a negative is heard in this track. You feel slightly bored and annoyed by the end of this tune as the ingenuity seems to be slowly fading as the song progresses. It lacks originality and sounds too much like most of this album. It’s still enjoyable at its good points but not worth a re-listen to as yet again, it seems like Abel has traded in wide-appeal for nuance or attention to detail.

Heartless

★★★★½ 

The single that introduced the world to this album continues to be one of its strongest moments. It’s a very fun and yet emotional outburst from Abel. The talent in songwriting and mastery in the craft is on display in this upbeat ballad. The re-listen value is quite high and I found myself with a smile on my face whenever I listened to this in the past few months. The chorus is quite catchy and very well-composed. The instrumental and production by Metro-Booming is very complementary to the song. This was probably the best song to release as the lead single, so kudos to Abel. It defines the tone and quality of the album and is simultaneously defined by it.

Faith

★★★

Sandwiched in between the two major singles from this project is a song which is a mixed bag. Tonally and lyrically it acts as a sort ‘unofficial interlude’ and shifts the tone of the album. However, I found that upon closer inspection, the song is quite uninteresting. It’s missing the charm that most of The Weeknd’s music has and just feels uninspired as a whole. Abel is also weak vocally on this track which certainly detracts from its overall appeal.

Blinding Lights

★★★★ 

Lyrically, this song is really rich. It’s very thoughtful and provocative. It compels you to think for yourself which is a rarity in music nowadays. It also has one of the best vocal performances from Abel on this record. The pop influence is also very markedly visible on this track. The quality of the instrumental is also quite high. Although, it’s re-listening attribute isn’t too high, this is a very technically impressive song from The Weeknd.

In Your Eyes

★★½ 

The pop inspiration and influence reaches an all-time high and doesn’t execute its purpose in an effective way. This song like many others on the record feels like a cash-grab rather than an output of artistic expression. It’s upbeat and generic instrumentals do nothing to help it. Thoroughly disappointed with this song, as it strays far away from the momentum the album is carrying in its emotion.