“My Dear Melancholy,” Back to His Roots
A track-by-track review of The Weekends “My Dear Melancholy,”.
Abel Tesfaye, more popularly known as The Weeknd dropped his latest EP My Dear Melancholy, late last month. The Weeknd’s fanbase finally got what they’ve been waiting for, after many felt his previous album Starboy was a step away from his sound. His fanbase was built off his immensly popular albums Kiss Land and Trilogy. This EP has caused much commotion as it focuses on his heartbreaks in his former relationships with Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid. “My Dear Melancholy,” has already broken records as it is the shortest album, by track count, to top the Billboard 200.
Call out my name
“I helped you out of a broken place/ You gave me comfort/ But falling for you was my mistake”
“I almost cut a piece of myself for your life”
“Call out my name” is the first track on this EP sampling one of his previous works, “Earned it”. This is with out a doubt his most controversial song on the project as it focuses on his past relationship with Selena Gomez. From the beginning Abel’s regret can be heard as he mentions falling for her as a mistake as Selena kept going back and forth with her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. The line, “I almost cut a piece of myself…”, is what makes this song so controversial as he could be saying how he was willing to donate one of his kidneys in order to save Selena, who has consistently struggled with Lupus.
Try me
“Well, I’m not tryna break up something/ You’ve been workin’ out, you’ve been steady/ But I’m ready to go all the way if you let me”
“The way I kissed your scars/ The way I fixed your heart, oh”
“Try me” is the second track off “My Dear Melancholy,”, in which you hear Abel’s signature somber and haunting tones. In a song where he is trying to convince a previous lover to leave their current partner for him. Although many believe that this song was a shot taken at Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, due to the line where he mentions how he isn’t trying to break anything up and how he kissed her scars. People believed the “scars” he mentions or Selena’s surgery scars and that he was saying how he wasn’t trying to get between JB and Selena. Many people disagree though as the lyrics where he mentions not breaking anything up was part of a freestyle from back in 2014.
Wasted Times
“Wasted Times I spent with someone else / She wasn’t even half of you”
“You were equestrian,..”
Being the third track on the EP, “Wasted Times”, is about The Weekends’s perspective on his two previous relationships with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez. Bella’s reference in the song can be inferred since he is reminiscing over his past girlfriend and her past as an equestrian. Which she had to give up due to her Lyme disease. He also mentions how many girls only want him for his potential and success, but in the other hand Hadid has been loving him since day one. Selena’s reference in this song is when he says how he “Wasted time with someone else” and he feels like she wasn’t half the woman Hadid was. This song goes deep to express his emotions, delivered simplistically, but impactful as his voice wasn’t overshadowed by the production.
I Was Never There
“You’d rather something toxic/ So, I poison myself again, again”
“If I keep going, I won’t make it”
On “I Was Never There” Abel collaborates with Gesaffelstein, known in hip-hop for his futuristic contributions to Kanye West’s Yeezus. On this track Abel sings about ending meaningful relationships and not being able to deal with it in a healthy any longer, relying on alcohol and drugs to numb his pain. His references to drugs is also to make the claim that love is an addiction. In the line where he says “If I keep going, I won’t make it” he’s talking about how he knows about a possible overdose as he’s had these disastrous break ups continuously and just keeps relying on drugs to numb his pain.
Hurt You
“And now I know relationship’s my enemy”
“‘Cause if it’s love you want again, don’t waste your time”
“I don’t wanna hurt you”
“Hurt You”, is The Weekend’s second collaboration with Gesaffelstein on the project. Throughout this song you might catch that it sounds a bit like “I feel it Coming” and “Starboy”, because there are samples of both songs. Here he is in a way giving out a warning to a woman who is still in love with him, but the difference this time is that Abel is the one not wanting any in fear that he will cause her to hurt herself. He also mentions how he feels like relationships are his enemy, since in his past he’s dealt with pretty hard break ups like he did with Bella and Selena. The magic to this song is that if you aren’t paying attention to the lyrics the song seems very uptempo, but in reality it’s very “melancholy”.
Privilege
“Blues away, way, way/ I got two red pills to take the blues away”
“But I’ma drink the pain away, I’ll be back to my old ways”
“Privilege” having the honor to take the outro for My Dear Melancholy, makes a perfect ending to this great EP. As it’s not only the outro to the EP, but also sounds like a final goodbye in a relationship. Showing how the EP is undoubtedly built of his previous relationships and breakups. In this song he also tributes the 1999 movie The Matrix where Neo is presented with the option of taking a red pill to escape the matrix and learn the truth, or a blue pill to return to normal life and forget anything ever happened, and like he mentions he rather take the red pill and face the harsh reality of it all. He also mentions how he’ll drink the pain away like he has in many of his previous songs.
Overall
My Dear Melancholy, unlike his other work doesn’t have The Weekend boasting about himself, he’s simply hurt and not afraid to express it. Although this short EP has been considered to be the return of the “old Weekend”, since many of his nostalgic vibes and sounds are present, it doesn’t compare to his marvelous works of House of Balloonsor Kiss Land. But that doesn’t mean that this short, 21 minute, EP doesn’t make a statement, as he is able to fully express himself. If you’re a fan of his earlier works, this project will with out a doubt be enjoyed.
