When his first mixtape surfaced online in March 2011, not much was known about the Weeknd, save that he was a hyper-talented R&B artist from Toronto who used an angelic voice to sing of late-night depravity and spiritual emptiness. Two more mixtapes followed and now Abel Tesfaye – the 22-year-old behind the project – is releasing all three on a major label, remastered and packaged with three extra tracks. The production sounded great to start with, and the new material is unexceptional, but if you didn't pick up the mixtapes when they were going free, and can handle 160 minutes of beautifully crafted nihilism, this is an essential buy.
(XO/Universal Republic/Island)
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