A few weeks ago a friend an I were debating about solid albums by various artists. We had different scales to judge the overall body of work with, but something he used stuck with me. He took the number of songs on the album and counted how many of them are bangers. What I realized that a lot of albums, not a crazy amount, but some that the culture collectively calls classics, don’t have 50% banger status. So, I felt this was a strong factor to include. I say this because we all know we have some albums we call classics but will only play a few tracks over and over.

My Dear Melancholy is a 6 track EP – now wait, I know some gonna be like “its only got 6 tracks!”, but do your research, there are quite a few 6 track EPs in hip hop history. Off the top I can mention J. Cole’s ‘Truly Yours’ and ‘Truly Yours 2’. Now, back to it. The most notable song on here is “Call Out My Name” which was on the soundtrack for “50 Shades of Grey”. The worse song on the EP and it’s not even that bad a of a song. To me, it was just played out, so I don’t give it a listen. The other five tracks are non-skips.

“Wasted Times” gives us classic Weeknd vocals with music that correlates to the EP title. When the drums drop 30 seconds in, the song is set on fire. The muted hi hat pattern adds to the vibe and we are locked in until the end. The song speaks to time spent looking for what he already had. Knowing that one that got away will always be the one.

“Try Me” opens up with a sinful synth pattern with a nice hi hat and base. The song speaks to being ready to make a move with a girl who is now engaged in a situation. Weeknd letting her know that it’s time to give him that chance. Atmosphere is painted as a potentially toxic one but worth the experience.

“I Was Never There” give us a strong siren melody with a easy listening drum pattern. Distant voices echo gives to the intensity of the vocals. The song speaks to a man feeling as if his presence and time spent was nothing, none of it mattered. The feeling he is left with is a cut to deep to move on from.

“Hurt You” has a nice melody reminiscent of a Daft Punk sound mixed with a nice up tempo drum pattern. His vocals are more direct speaking to the woman. His is giving it to her straight about the situation and what it will be. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Privilege” gives us the most dark melody. Deep undertone allowing the vocals to be the light of the song. Song speaks to the aftermath of a failed relationship. Saying that he is suffering and her pain isn’t comparable.

All the tracks are vibes and there are no fillers. Extremely solid body of work with 6 complete tracks that are non skips, except for my personal opinion of track 1. None of them have similar sounds, taking you into a different world of their own and into a story that feels real. The best The Weeknd album without a doubt.