The Weeknd Brings Listeners to the Immersive world of “Dawn FM.” Oh, and Jim Carrey is There Too

Image Courtesy of XO / Republic Records

By Joey Brasco

The trajectory of The Weeknd’s career has been surprising, to say the least. Once an artist shrouded in mystery, choosing to let his dark and moody R&B speak for itself, The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) is now one of the most recognizable artists of his generation. Coming off the heels of his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, he is back with the follow-up to 2020’s chart topping After Hours. His new album, Dawn FM, continues the former’s ’80s influenced synth-pop aesthetic, using the over-the-top nature of that era’s instrumentation to help Abel paint the hedonistic and excessive character portrait of his persona, The Weeknd, through the lyrics on this album

Following the brief intro song, the album’s first proper track, “Gasoline,” is a prime example of the provocative tales Abel often tells. The track is a startling blend of disorienting rhythm sections and frantic synths, perfectly matching the frightening lyrical content. 

The chorus finds Abel romanticizing the idea of literally going down in a firestorm of drugs and debauchery, as he pleads with his lover, “And if I finally die in peace / Just wrap my body in these sheets / And pour out the gasoline / It don’t mean much to me.” 

“Take My Breath,” released in August of 2021 in promotion for Dawn FM, testifies to Abel’s charisma and pop mastery. The bassline on this track is an immediate earworm, and the cinematic synth lines on the extended album version of the track give it a newfound sense of urgency.

The hits keep on rolling with the following song, “Sacrifice.” The opening guitar riff shreds right through the mix and gives the song a sustained sense of momentum. This song also contains what may be the album’s catchiest chorus. 

The lyrics of the song delve into the album’s core themes, with Abel’s character selfishly, yet honestly, reveling in his hedonism. “I sacrificed / Your love for more of the night / I try to put up a fight / Can’t tie me down.” This lyrical run serves as a warning to anyone who thinks they can keep up with his lifestyle. Questionable morals aside, this track is pure pop bliss and will surely rule the radio and streaming platforms in 2022.

Following the one-two punch of the previous tracks, the album then dishes out two excellent slow jams. First, “Out of Time,” with its groovy baseline and ethereal synths, allows for Abel’s skills as a vocalist to be on full display as he reveals how his former childhood trauma has contributed to his inability to commit to long-term love. 

The subsequent “Here We Go… Again” is even more lowkey as it features no percussion. Bare, washed-out synths stand alone to make for a woozy atmosphere that Abel reinforces with his syrupy-smooth melodies and reflective lyrics. It serves as a sort of career retrospective, and thus notably breaks the immersive, character-portrait experience the album had cultivated up to this point, referencing real-life events like his Super Bowl triumph. 

“We still celebrating’ Super Bowl.”

This hit of realism is continued by the Tyler, The Creator feature, which unfortunately sounds a tad out of place in the otherworldly aesthetic Dawn FM seeks to craft. Tyler hops onto the track with a nondescript rap-flow when in the past he has shown his ability to morph into a unique character himself on the masterful Igor. On that album, the guests tailored themselves to the vibe Tyler was crafting, if he had decided to do the same for this project, it would have made his verse more consequential

The middle section of the album, unfortunately, hits a bit of a lull, with “Best Friends” failing to bring the self-aware commentary on The Weeknd’s hedonistic tendencies that a song like “Sacrifice” does. The instrumentation is lacking, too, with its bloated bass being a bit too overbearing. The song also loses a sense of direction during the second verse. 

Tracks “Is There Someone Else?” as well as “Don’t Break My Heart” are decent songs but pale in comparison to the stunners in the album’s front end. 

Also slowing down the pace at the midpoint in the album was the decision to include two songs which are essentially interludes in the form of “Starry Eyes” and “Every Angel is Terrifying.” “Starry Eyes” plays like an extended outro for “Is There Someone Else?,” as it carries on the same core melody of that song. With no new ideas or chorus, it does not work well as a stand-alone track. 

“Every Angel is Terrifying” serves as a spoken word piece, where Abel does an over-the-top radio advertisement playing from the imaginary “103.5 Dawn FM” station. It also teases at the potential next Weeknd album, titled After Life, which Abel implores listeners to preorder during the commercial. It certainly is a creative teaser, but it also slows the album’s musical momentum, as there is no song here. 

Things pick up in a major way with the lavish “I Heard You’re Married” featuring Lil Wayne. The glimmering instrumental sounds expensive, and the tale Abel spins of being deceived by a married woman is an interesting change of pace from his usual narrative of always being the one at fault within a toxic relationship. His cheeky “I can’t be with you” refrain is a playful standout moment on the track as well. 

The Lil Wayne feature is passable but leaves the impression that Abel could have easily handled this album by himself. Much of the charm of Dawn FM, as well as other projects by The Weeknd, is Abel’s blurring of the lines between fiction and reality. The degree to which he personally leads the life he sings about is a mystery, but, nonetheless, is morbidly compelling. 

The element of narrative that adds to his projects is understood by famed comedic actor Jim Carrey, who plays the role of mysterious radio DJ throughout many interludes on the album. If not for the album’s announcement, it would not have been immediately clear to listeners who were voicing the cryptic character. 

The album ends with a bang through with the anthemic and admirably vulnerable “Less than Zero,” which sees Abel lamenting all the love he has lost due to his many faults. The meek acoustic guitar chords melt into a rushing wave of synths on the chorus, letting the song soar to euphoric heights that more than makeup for the album’s nap at the midway point.  

Dawn FM, in many ways, is a repackaged version of The Weeknd persona with whom fans should already be familiar. What is undeniably fresh, though, is the new batch of fantastic tracks this album provides. Hits like “Sacrifice,” “Take My Breath,” and “Gasoline” will surely define 2022. Abel also sounds supremely confident in this sound and aesthetic he has adopted as of late, and with each new project the unstoppable pop superstar character Abel plays on this record appears less and less like a work of fiction.