The Weeknd is generally known for embracing dark subject matter with matching aesthetics, and the first single from his new album is very much in that tradition, despite its uplifting production
“Dancing In The Flames” is an uptempo dance-pop ballad of the sort we often get from Abel Tesfaye. With lyrics encouraging a lover to “just have faith,” it seems at first listen to be a more hopeful song — but like, many of his tracks, the glittering beat hides some harrowing content. Fortunately, the video is suitably horrifying; Abel gets into a head-on collision with a semi truck, resulting in what very much looks to be a trip to the afterlife.
As a glimpse of his upcoming sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, it suggests that the nightmarish posture of its immediate predecessors, After Hours and Dawn FM, might be in the past — which is fitting, since Hurry Up Tomorrow is being presented as the conclusion of a trilogy.
The album’s cover, which he shared earlier this week, also seems to bear out this theory, as the photo presents a bare-faced Tesfaye with tears in his eyes, a stark contrast to the old man makeup from Dawn FM and the bloodied hedonist of After Hours. In a message teasing the new album, he reinforced the optimistic speculation about the album, writing, “A new path awaits. When today ends, I’ll discover who I am.”
While he has yet to reveal the release date for Hurry Up Tomorrow, the release of “Dancing In The Flames” will surely raise the anticipation for the upcoming album.
You can listen to “Dancing In The Flames” above.