Albums to watch

Dawn FM

The Weeknd

Dawn FM

Fifth full-length album from the Canadian alternative R&B singer-songwriter working with Oneohtrix Point Never, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia

ADM rating[?]

8.4

Label
Universal Music
UK Release date
07/01/2022
US Release date
07/01/2022
  1. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    If this is the end for the Weeknd, what a way to bow out. Abel Tesfaye confirms his status as an all-time great with an album of icy 80s-inflected splendour
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  2. 10.0 |   Vinyl Chapters

    Dawn FM is an album that’s so full of soul, charisma, energy, and melancholy that to label it anything less than a masterpiece would be doing it an injustice
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  3. 10.0 |   Albumism

    With his fantastic fifth studio album, The Weeknd definitely sets the tone and bar high as we usher in a new year with plenty of new music on the horizon
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  4. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    With Dawn FM The Weeknd has demonstrated a vision that the vast majority of his peers would be incapable of, and has executed it with finesse and a slippery, enigmatic charm
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  5. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    While The Weeknd’s early work remains influential, fantastic songwriting and production assistance from Max Martin and Daniel Lopatin (among others) has helped transform Dawn FM into pop gold. Highly recommended
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  6. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    With Dawn FM, Abel Tesfaye has truly cemented himself as one of the modern greats, and it's been a treat to be able to experience it in real-time
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  7. 8.8 |   Paste Magazine

    Billed as the successor to 2019’s acclaimed After Hours, Abel Tesfaye’s fifth studio LP transcends dynamic pop grandeur and flaunts accountability in the face of death
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  8. 8.3 |   Entertainment Weekly

    Dawn FM might be just shy of summoning the truly divine, but its best moments provide enough blinding light to counter the increasingly enveloping gloom of 2022
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  9. 8.0 |   All Music

    In the main, this is a space for Tesfaye to fully indulge his frantic romantic side as his co-conspirators whip up fluorescent throwback Euro-pop with muscle and nuance
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  10. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    Dawn FM is no Thriller by any means (sorry Timbaland) but it’s a solid chapter in the story of an artist who continues to unabashedly defy expectations. And ultimately, we’re lucky to be along for the ride
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  11. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    The album balances The Weeknd’s oddball charm with pop song efficiency
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  12. 8.0 |   NME

    Abel Tesfaye marks a period of reflection with perhaps his most mature, emotionally robust collection yet. Oh, and Jim Carrey narrates it, of course
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  13. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    Admittedly, The Weeknd is light years away from the sounds of Trilogy and a lot closer to the sounds of After Hours and Starboy, but one thing is for sure: this album is much closer to excellence than his last offerings
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  14. 8.0 |   Gigwise

    Euphoric and unnerving
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  15. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A self-knowing contradiction to The Weeknd’s past celebrations of impermanence via one-night stands and sleazy affairs. Now he understands, even regrets, his flighty behaviour
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  16. 8.0 |   The FT

    Mirror-shiny synth-pop masks a brittle psyche in this concept-heavy follow-up to the record-breaking ‘After Hours’
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  17. 8.0 |   Pitchfork

    Conceptualized around listening to a retro-pop radio station in purgatory, Abel Tesfaye’s fifth album is the most thoughtful, melodic, and revealing project of his career
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  18. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The Weeknd’s Dawn FM is a woozy, psychedelic deep dive inside the artist’s famously twisted psyche
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  19. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    The singer doubles down on pop in his latest album with resounding success
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  20. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Less brooding and decadent than usual, his latest is a refreshingly light and accessible listen
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  21. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    An upbeat The Weeknd perfects his pop formula on Dawn FM, a radio show for the end of the world
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  22. 8.0 |   Clash

    Despite some pacing issues, ‘Dawn FM’ is a worthy follow-up to ‘After Hours’. Whilst it lacks the character and vivacity of its predecessor, ‘Dawn FM’ develops the latest reinvention of the Weeknd with its dramatic instrumentation and refreshed view of the world
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