House of Balloons - The Weeknd
House of Balloons Image
  • Summary: The mixtape by Canadian artist Abel Tesfaye was released as a free download.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Jun 13, 2011
    90
    When it's all said and done, Tesfaye has presided over a mind bending, drug induced tour through an underground world of debauchery that only leaves him hollow. He commands the mood better than artists who have been in the game for years and yet this his first release.
  2. May 10, 2011
    90
    Here, the Weeknd thumbs its nose at mainstream R&B's hollow hedonism while simultaneously creating a flawless soundtrack to a blackout house party. What you should do with the track, ultimately, is press play.
  3. Apr 20, 2011
    89
    House of Balloons is a surprisingly strong and confident debut for a new artist.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 27
  2. Negative: 2 out of 27
  1. 8
    It's a bit of a grower. Lyrically, the album doesn't stray much from themes of sex and drugs. Rather than seeming boastful, the pained vocals and dark instrumentals lends these themes a hollow feeling. Early standouts include "Glass Table Girls," "Loft Music," and "What You Need." Overall, the album definitely isn't perfect. Some of the tracks are forgettable, and the singer's delivery rarely seems to vary throughout the album. Still, worth checking out. Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  2. I expected a lot more from this album. I got such great critic reviews. Now I wonder if they were listening to the album with the speakers turned off or someone with a gun to their head forcing them to write a great review. Sure, maybe some people like songs all about sex, drugs, and violence, but it gets boring after a while. I actually thought that the singer was a woman at first. There is something off with that. The only song worth listening to is the first track "High For This". Other than that, don't bother with it. Expand
    • 1 of 16 users said yes
  3. 1
    I gave this album a 1 instead of a 0, because, while it is utter trash, it does have slightly better instrumentation then more mainstream R&B releases. However it still has negatives like those awful drum machines beats. I simply cannot stand the R&B Style vocals. Every time I hear them I immediately think of mainstream stuff weather its a fair comparison or not. However the worst part of this album is the lyrics. Even if it was a concept album you can pretty much forget all of that, because the guys behind The weekend just seem to be genuinely terrible lyricists. To top it all off I had to constantly keep reminding myself that I wasn't listening to the radio. Its almost as if The Weekend released this album with the soul intent of being picked up by some major label. It just sounds like the average money grabber of a song they usually produce. Expand
    • 0 of 25 users said yes

See all 27 User Reviews

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