House of Balloons review.

Taken from CompleteVII.

Co-signs help take you to most places in life. If you're looking for a job and have a co-sign from a higher power in the company, chances are that you'll be more of a candidate for the opening than John Doe. So after gaining some co-signs from famous artists like Drake, I decided to give The Weeknd's debut mixtape House of Balloons a listen, hoping to add some more new R&B to my iPod.

A quick glance at the mixtape's cover will confuse the listener at first, but as soon as they start listening to the songs, they'll realize how much the portrait makes sense. The picture of a passed out naked woman in a bathtub with balloons covering everything but an exposed breast likely shows the aftermath of a crazy party; one that she won't likely remember. In fact, in the mixtape's first song "High For This", the chorus advises the girl that she should be, well, high for this.

Despite listening to this mixtape for a solid week now, I still haven't uncovered most the mysteries behind The Weeknd. Is The Weeknd just a solo artist or an artist and a group of in-house producers? I want to lean towards the latter, especially since the one thing I do know is that the lead singer and maybe only singer is Abel Tesfaye, from Toronto, Canada. (Which, not surprisingly, is one of the reasons why Drake co-signed him/them.) Tesfaye doesn't necessarily have the best voice, but his ear for beats, the passion he puts behind each note and the way he pieces this mixtape together reminds me a lot of The-Dream - only a more explicit version.

The lyrics laced throughout the nine-track project are filled with drug references, swagger and sexual conquest that would make the younger R. Kelly raise his eyebrow in surprise. An example would be "The Morning", which is one of the tape's highlights. Right at the beginning of the verse, Tesfaye says that banging sounds coming from the walls of his room are reminiscent to an unborn baby kicking at its mother's stomach. Yeah, it might not necessarily be the smoothest line to use to woo a girl, but that's the beauty of this tape.

"Wicked Games" shows a slightly vulnerable side of The Weeknd. The first verse has him viciously attacking a past love, saying that he doesn't love her anymore behind a low, dark guitar riff. His pain can be felt through the lyrics of the bridge and chorus, telling a woman he just met to say she loves him, even if it's just a lie. The destruction his past girl has left on him killed his confidence and he hopes a one night stand can fix that.

House of Balloons is a very good debut release that deserves the co-signs it's been getting. With the production taking on samples from bands like Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshee's, I don't see only R&B fans getting behind this mixtape, as it appeals to a lot of tastes. The only flaw I can pick out is that some of the songs drag out too long and get stale, but the mixtape's highlights are too awesome not to ignore.

1.) High For This | 4

2.) What You Need | 3 - 3.25

3.) House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls | 3.5 - 4

4.) The Morning | 4.5 - 5

5.) Wicked Games | 5

6.) The Party & The After Party | 3.5 - 4

7.) Coming Down | 4.25 - 5

8.) Loft Music | 4 - 4.25

9.) The Knowing | 3.5 - 4

Overall: 4.10/5