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Apr 5, 2018There are no blockbuster hit singles like “I Can’t Feel My Face” or “Starboy,” but the melodic directness and Michael Jackson vocalisms of those songs is here, just buried under clouds of sad synthesizers and downcast beats. ... It’s a credit to this prolific and ever-evolving artist that he manages to be creatively restless and never stay in the same place for long while always sounding unmistakably like himself.
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Apr 2, 2018What most demonstrates the Weeknd's growth on My Dear Melancholy, is the precision of his songwriting, even in material that downplays the flair for structure he developed while working with Martin.
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Apr 2, 2018In adding back into the mix that layer of unpredictability that's served him so well, the EP adds yet enough layer of complexity to an already diverse discography--while placing a few more musical bullets in the chamber for the next world tour.
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Apr 2, 2018Yes, it’s true the mini-album doesn’t break any new ground, and--as he’s done in the past — revisits elements of previous projects. However, without the bloated tracklist of Starboy, and any attempt to please an audience outside of his core, the lack of innovation doesn’t seem take away from the concise, focused, conceptual nature of this well-produced R&B gem (thanks to Frank Dukes, Mike Will Made It and several other notables).
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Apr 2, 2018My Dear Melancholy, surprisingly provides the clearest, most engaging example yet of the Weeknd's angst. It's the sound of a man kneeling at love's altar still in search of an elusive healing.
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Apr 10, 2018Overall, the EP is decent, its production hearkening back to Abel’s pre-pop efforts. It brings in a range of genres and collaborators into The Weeknd’s canon but fails to truly cover new ground in the lyrics and vocal threads. My Dear Melancholy is a promising output but here’s hoping these stylistic ideas can be explored more originally on a full-length EP.
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Apr 3, 2018While My Dear Melancholy, makes for a slight curio in the Weeknd’s discography, it also feels like an unnecessary step backwards following the down-for-whatever approach of his recent work. There’s nothing wrong with reflecting on the past, but sometimes it’s better to just leave it there.
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Apr 3, 2018Enjoyment for this sort of album can be derived from two factors: being, your toleration for pandering, and your toleration for complainers. Given the circumstances, I’d advise you simply look past either point and enjoy the music superficially, but if you’re finally sick of The Weeknd’s melancholy, now might be the time to look elsewhere.
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Apr 3, 2018Stylistically, superficially, this forward propulsion sees him loop back to the start with six-track EP My Dear Melancholy,, which appears to sink back into the browbeaten R&B with which he made his Google-friendly name. This works--sporadically.
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Mar 30, 2018At six tracks and barely 20 minutes long, it feels like an interstitial release rather than a major statement. ... Still, if you can get around the fact that the lyrics appear to have been written by R&B’s answer to that bloke who said he was going to continuously play piano in Bristol town centre until his girlfriend took him back, there’s a great deal to like about My Dear Melancholy,. It abandons the pick’n’mix and indeed hit-and-miss approach of previous album Starboy in favour of something more cohesive: uniformly downbeat and twilit, it flows really well.
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Apr 5, 2018My Dear Melancholy, has cohesion, but it’s a listless, murky sound that never unhinges the way you want it to. Had he pushed a little further, it could have made for something more substantial, rather than walking up to the cusp and then backing down.
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Dec 11, 2018Apart from the sly and sweet 2-step rhythm on "Wasted Times," the sound of the EP is bleary R&B with beats that drag and lurch, suited for Tesfaye's routine swings between self-pity and sexual vanity, chemically enhanced from one extreme to the other.
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Apr 6, 2018On Melancholy, the Starboy wallows in heartbreak. It can be a bit tedious, at least until French producer/DJ Gesaffelstein shows up for “Never There” and “Hurt You,” which plays like a two-part song.
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Apr 2, 2018The production retreats into his comfort zone. But it is also really just a breakup album, and a really mopey one at that.
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Apr 2, 2018The music does at times reach the heights of Trilogy: the main lick of "Try Me" and the excellent beat on "Hurt You" reveal flickers of creative flame in Tesfaye's songwriting. Yet the primary impression left by My Dear Melancholy is that however visible those flames, their faintness is what sticks in the memory.
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Apr 2, 2018There’s more softness and vulnerability than one usually associates with the Weeknd, but also his signature numbness. ... Opener Call Out My Name’s title is typical of the EP’s uninteresting lyrical approach, but he sings with a grandness that is further amplified by sturdy production choices: a buzzing bass line and waltzing drum beat that sounds recycled from hit single Earned It.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 260 out of 310
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Mixed: 37 out of 310
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Negative: 13 out of 310
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Mar 30, 2018
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Mar 31, 2018This album is full of sex and slow motion vibes, that makes everyone listen to it feeling high. I really like that!
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Mar 30, 2018