by Jo Hayward, OnlyReal Entertainment
If you haven’t heard of The Weeknd, go listen… go listen right now. The Weeknd is Abel Tesfaye from right here in Toronto. The buzz grew more and more with each release of the mixtapes he put up on his website for free download in 2011. In November of last year, all three mixtapes (House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence) were packed together with three new songs as Trilogy.
After waiting almost two years for the follow up, The Weeknd has delivered with “Kiss Land” off his upcoming sophomore album. It sounds almost like the fun sexy vibes of House of Balloons mixed with the sensual seriousness of Echoes of Silence. All I know is I want to hear more. There’s no doubt, if you enjoyed Trilogy as much as I did, you’ll keep your eyes open for when his new album drops later this year. Follow The Weeknd on Twitter and Facebook and check out “Kiss Land” YouTube.
August seems to be a good month for album releases. I was happy to see a new album from White Lies will be coming out. Although it will be their third record, they’re not widely popular over here. I really enjoy their music, especially their last album, Rituals. I can’t help but hear the similarities between them and other British bands such as New Order and Joy Division.
White Lies takes the ’80s synth/pop sound to a darker place with frontman Harry McVeigh’s distorted/haunting vocals. Rituals was full of dark, but upbeat songs with modern rock elements throughout it. I thought it was a solid record so I listened to their new song, “Getting Even,” which the band put up on their Soundcloud recently. Normally I don’t like being surprised with new albums; usually when artists try to sound different than what their fans have grown to love them for, it doesn’t turn out well. So just like The Weeknd, I’m happy to see White Lies staying true to their sound and giving their fans something new and fresh. Their new album, BIG TV, drops August 12th. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook and check out their Soundcloud.