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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.
90
He commands the mood better than artists who have been in the game for years and yet this his first release.
86
An explosive debut unlike most of whatever is on Hot 97 or whatever your city uses to listen to Drake.
85
The group's penchant for druggy atmospherics is mirrored in their lyrical content, which is overtly sexual, narcotics-focused, and occasionally downright frightening.
80
They bring to the table the most interesting, depressing, and drug-infested R&B record in years.
80
For what The Weeknd have produced, regardless of what genre it is or isn’t, is a very good record.
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.
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
A masterpiece that excelles in atmosphere and ambition that feels like your in the moment with the weeknd in his depravity. Even though the weeknds songwriting isn't fantastic vocally he's godly. The production is very mellow and dark with songs like What you need and wicked games and can be totally insane with my favorite track house of balloons/glass table girls. This project maybe the weeknds first project but it turns out to be his masterpiece
Edit: went full Stan mode
Edit: went full Stan mode
stereogum.com
Watch The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime Show 
pitchfork.com
The Weeknd Announces New Compilation The Highlights 
pitchfork.com
Watch the Weeknd’s New “Save Your Tears” Video 
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| #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 |
More Lists
Track List
- High For This
- What You Need
- House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls
- The Morning
- Wicked Games
- The Party & The After Party
- Coming Down
- Loft Music
- The Knowing
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