House of Balloons
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
House of Balloons is a record comprised of slow-burning bangers, expertly crafted and dripping with a refreshingly ugly prettiness.
11y
90
He commands the mood better than artists who have been in the game for years and yet this his first release.
11y
86
An explosive debut unlike most of whatever is on Hot 97 or whatever your city uses to listen to Drake.
11y
85
The group's penchant for druggy atmospherics is mirrored in their lyrical content, which is overtly sexual, narcotics-focused, and occasionally downright frightening.
11y
83
Tesfaye breaks from radio sensibilities ... by pushing the unrest and inner turmoil those singers periodically touch on to unsettling extremes.
11y
80
This is a record that’s as ice cold as it is sad; for those who find Drake too much to stomach it might be off-putting, but for fans of the Canadian, it might just mark the arrival of a brand new obsession.
80
For what The Weeknd have produced, regardless of what genre it is or isn’t, is a very good record.
11y
80
They bring to the table the most interesting, depressing, and drug-infested R&B record in years.
11y
30
Though I'm all for any efforts the artists of today make to change the R&B landscape, the lyricism on this LP sticks up like an unwelcome weed.
Has anyone watched fantanos review.... It's NOT GOOD.
Favorite Tracks: High For This, What You Need, House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls
The Morning, Wicked Games, The Party & The After Party, The Knowing
Worst Track: Loft Music
The comparison has been made before, but The Weeknd is essentially Michael Jackson if he was a huge partygoer and suffered from endless depression and substance addiction. "House of Balloons" pretty much capitalizes this by instantly hitting us with its druggy atmosphere and Abel's tenor vocal delivery. His pen game isn't anything great, but this record makes the lyrics work in his favor. Overall, The Weeknd's debut mixtape stands, with the rest of "Trilogy", as his best ... read more
Dark, depraved and disturbing yet intensely provocative. I think it's safe to say that Abel changed the RnB game forever.
Near perfect and flawless. What people don't get about this album is that it tells a story of a man meeting a girl and doing drugs with her, the story expands in the other two, but I feel this album is still the best musically. The only track I think is mediocre or bad is Party and The After Party and (if you want to include it) the bonus track on Trilogy.
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Track List
| 1 | High For This 4:09 | 91 |
| 2 | What You Need 3:26 | 82 |
| 3 | House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls 6:47 | 95 |
| 4 | The Morning 5:14 | 90 |
| 5 | Wicked Games 5:25 | 94 |
| 6 | The Party & The After Party 7:39 | 88 |
| 7 | Coming Down 4:55 | 86 |
| 8 | Loft Music 6:03 | 85 |
| 9 | The Knowing 5:42 | 91 |
Total Length: 49 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | Complex |
| #1 | / | FACT Magazine |
| #2 | / | One Thirty BPM |
| #2 | / | Spinner |
| #5 | / | FILTER |
| #5 | / | Stereogum |
| #6 | / | A.V. Club |
| #6 | / | PopMatters |
| #7 | / | Billboard |
| #8 | / | The Guardian |
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By landlalt
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