The album “Dawn FM” is the fifth studio album coming from the singer and songwriter best known as The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye. It was released on January 7, 2022. This album brings the listener into a new realm of perspective, thought, and imagination. With its amazing beats, instrumentals, vocals, songwriting, and flow, it does bring the entire album to be as perfect as it is. With a new album possibly in reach, it is time to give this album the love it deserves.
The album includes experimental vocals, sounds, beats, instrumentals, and commentary.
This album is truly one-of-a-kind. The experimental elements, such as the commentary from the famous actor Jim Carey and the interlude coming from the renowned music composer Quincy Jones, really give this album its special place. It allows the listener to let themselves go free as they enter an entirely new listen.
Tracks that show these elements are:
“Phantom Regret by Jim” (Outro)
“Dawn FM” (Intro)
“Gasoline”
“A Tale By Quincy”
“Every Angel is Terrifying”
This entire album is based on the transition from death to life. The first half of the album is more of a dark side, and the next half is transcending into the afterlife.
A huge element of this album is how Tesfaye plans to forget about all the regrets and all the things he has done and to reconcile in the afterlife.
Tesfaye explains his regret and reflects on his life, love, and fame as he is aware that his fate is inevitable.
Tracks that highlight these stories, reflections, and elements are:
“Out of Time”
“Is There Someone Else?”
“Phantom Regret by Jim” (Outro)
“Here We Go… Again” (feat. Tyler, the Creator):
Dawn FM also has a lot of nostalgia and includes a lot of 80’s 80-style music production. The retro beats of the music fit with the idea of reflecting on past life and love as well as regrets and the efforts to try and reach the idea of an escape from reality and life. One of the songs on the album that shows this is the song “I Heard You’re Married,” which features the popular artist/rapper Lil Wayne. Other tracks that include these retro-styled beats are :
“Gasoline”
“Don’t Break My Heart”
“How Do I Make You Love Me?”
“Less Than Zero”
Despite the dark/deep tone of the entire album, the songs keep a very upbeat vibe. The tracks that aren’t full of commentary are almost always groovy and include uplifting beats. Tracks that show this are :
“Best Friends”
“Sacrifice”
“Out of Time”
I interviewed a student, Erika Avila, who attends school at QHHS. I asked them what they thought about the album and their personal opinions on it.
Me: “What do you think of Dawn FM?”
Avila: “The album is good. I do like the transitions in the music and how they flow together.”
Me: “What type of listening experience did you have with this album the first time you listened to it?”
Avila: “The experience I got was romantic.”
Me: “Can you elaborate on the transitions you liked?”
Avila: “The music part of this album by The Weeknd has very good transitioning. All the beats go together, and the music changes swiftly.”
As of late September 2024, The Weeknd has made it clear that his next album will be his last album as The Weeknd, and he will officially be making music only under the name Abel Tesfaye. Dawn FM is the second album of a three-album trilogy. The third album, of course, is the album that is to be released next. There is no release date, but as The Weeknd releases more music, it could be closer than we think.
