The cover for The Weeknd’s “Timeless.”
As we covered with The Weeknd – Dancing In The Flames, Abel Tesfaye’s decade-old stage name is near its end. Though many expect the “Blinding Lights” singer to continue making music after he retires his current moniker, Hurry Up Tomorrow will truly be the end of an era. It’ll cap an arc that brought him from underground sensation to one of the biggest names in music. The second piece of its puzzle has just landed. Here’s everything you need to know about what The Weeknd & Playboi Carti accomplish with their “Timeless.”
“Timeless” Promises One Of The Most Adventurous The Weeknd LPs Yet
Though the track unites a singer who’s gone platinum more times than you can count and the biggest cult personality in hip-hop, it’s not absurd to say that Mike Dean steals the show. The ambient opening synths he provides make the beat here one of the more interesting thing either artist has performed on in some time. Though Hurry Up Tomorrow positions as the end of a trilogy with The Weeknd’s previous two albums, “Timeless” throws back to his My Dear Melancholy era (albeit with a hip-hop flavored drum overhaul), as the production here sounds like Dean & Pharrell’s replication of a frigid Gesaffelstein composition.
However, the unexpected chemistry between Atlanta’s and Toronto’s finest stands as another major highlight. After the “Magnolia” MC leads off the track, Tesfaye interpolates a number of his lyrics and melodies. He snatches them from the realm of melodic trap and into stadium pop fare. Particularly, the repeated “Timeless” lyrics lend well to either world. Though The Weeknd belting out more menacing lines may evoke Drake’s “can’t listen to the stick talk in falsetto” diss, it’s not a shock to hear him wear a nocturnal, grimy persona once again. As a final note on The Weeknd’s lyrics here, he himself notes the major star power contained in this song’s credits, mentioning “Neptune drum with a beam” as Pharrell earns first-line production credit here.
As of writing, a release date for Hurry Up Tomorrow isn’t confirmed. For now, check out “Timeless” and the rest of The Weeknd catalog wherever you stream your music.
Elsewhere in our coverage, Jamie xx – In Waves recaptures the magic of the British multi-hyphenate’s debut.
