The Controversial Opinions of The Weekend’s New Album: Is he Overrated?

Fast forward to earlier this year, and The Weekend released his new album “Echoes of Dawn” for 2024, and everyone has been talking about it. If you had been following his career along the way, then that last part shouldn't be news to you; surely not even days after hearing this did y'all go "oh… it's a banger." But the thing is, it's got people pretty polarized. That conversation also applies to the reception of Snyder's film: yes, some fans are all in and have therefore called it a masterpiece, while others—not necessarily haters—exit scratching their heads. So, what’s the deal? Is The Weekend just doing his thing and taking on something like “Echoes of Dawn” to the next level through even more experimentation, or is everyone hoping for too much by getting hyped up over this?

You can hear it on the new album right away. The Weekend is kind of abandoning that whole dark, moody-sounding vibe we’ve come to know him for, and he has a bunch of other sounds in the mix. Everything from electronic beats, to indie rock, and some classical stuff too. He clearly pushed the boundaries of his sound, and while some love it, others are more wary of seeing him venture in this direction.

One big topic of debate? The production. This stuff is all over the map—a real great gumbo of styles. Except maybe it's being taken a few steps beyond where even those fans would like to see. You still receive that iconic Weekend voice, but there are moments where it gets drowned out from the rest of everything. In other words: is this artistic growth or simply being contrarian for the sake of it?

The fandom is very much divided over this one. So, some people are excited that he is trying something new. They feel that “Echoes of Dawn” is a welcome change and reminds people how multidimensional he can be. Both "Neon Dreams" and "Eclipse" offer an updated old-school feeling to Weekend vibes; this is why they are among the most liked.

But of course, the OG fans are not that thrilled. They won't have the raw, emotional stuff The Weekend used to dive into. Lots of think pieces this rollout will focus on the album disavowing and eschewing that darker content… but I wonder wherever they have been for CITIZENFOUR. It is more to do with experimenting in sound rather than deconstructing some deeper meaning within it, and that has made a few people feel it's lost something.

And the critics? They are as split up as the fan base. Others are very pro on the idea: after all, at least he is making an effort to do something different instead of just treading what (by comparison) is proven ground. To some, however, the album seems sloppy. The book feels to them as if it is trying too hard at being groundbreaking—and with a touch too little success. Now, that leads, of course, to the marketing hype.

This album was hyped hard. It was sold as this big new revolutionary thing, so people thought it would be a real killer. However, it failed to meet those lofty expectations for others. And that is the danger of having very high expectations—everybody thinks it'll be a monstrous event, and if this isn't big enough, people are going to feel disappointed. On the other hand, it got folks talking and generated an adequate buzz, so from a marketing viewpoint, it worked.

So, is "Echoes of Dawn" overrated? Quite honestly, this varies based on who you ask. You might think so if you are really interested in the envelope-pushing movement of artists. However, if you were looking for that heartfelt Weekend we got from his older songs, this one might not hit the same. Either way, The Weekend is doing what he does best… And like it or not, he's spicing things up.