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.
10y
90
He commands the mood better than artists who have been in the game for years and yet this his first release.
10y
86
An explosive debut unlike most of whatever is on Hot 97 or whatever your city uses to listen to Drake.
10y
85
The group's penchant for druggy atmospherics is mirrored in their lyrical content, which is overtly sexual, narcotics-focused, and occasionally downright frightening.
10y
80
They bring to the table the most interesting, depressing, and drug-infested R&B record in years.
10y
80
For what The Weeknd have produced, regardless of what genre it is or isn’t, is a very good record.
10y
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.
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
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.
Thank you all so much for 250 followers; I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate it. I decided to write another real long review on a favourite record of mine in celebration. If you actually read all of it, then I thank you so much, I really do. Anyhow...
The life of the party. It's a lifestyle that many late-teens and early-twenties grow to enamour as they near and pass graduation, as they come of age, as they explore more of their freedoms. Weekends become filled with the desire to ... read more
The life of the party. It's a lifestyle that many late-teens and early-twenties grow to enamour as they near and pass graduation, as they come of age, as they explore more of their freedoms. Weekends become filled with the desire to ... read more
Shrouded in mystery upon its initial release, House of Balloons was without a doubt a game-changing R&B project simply in the way it treated the tropes of the genre. The rinse and repeat lifestyle of partying, sex and drugs is displayed in all its glory throughout the mixtape, and it's displaying in the saddest and most depressing manner possible. It's no fun, it's miserable, but we're gonna do it all anyway. It's the musical equivalent of being at a party full of people dancing, living in ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | High For This 4:09 | 90 |
| 2 | What You Need 3:26 | 83 |
| 3 | House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls 6:47 | 92 |
| 4 | The Morning 5:14 | 90 |
| 5 | Wicked Games 5:25 | 95 |
| 6 | The Party & The After Party 7:39 | 89 |
| 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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