The Weeknd’s 7th Album ‘Dawn FM’ is a wonderfully crafted and perfectly timed creative statement by an artist on the top of his game.

The Weeknd finished 2021 with his music in many media platforms end-of-year lists for best tracks of the year. What better way to cement his position as one of the most important charting musicians of the time then, than by surprise-releasing his long-awaited new album ‘Dawn FM’ in the first week of 2022.

‘Dawn FM’ plays out like the experience of listening to an imaginary radio station including fictional advert breaks, catchy jingles and a DJ character voiced by actor, Jim Carrey. The album’s long list of collaborators and featuring vocalists reads like a who’s who of the pop world including Tyler The Creator, Calvin Harris, Lil Wayne, Swedish House Mafia and even a cameo from iconic record producer Quincy Jones.

Sonically, the album is fully endowed to the 80s dance pop sound that has been present in the Weeknd’s music for some time. Songs like ‘Gasoline’, ‘Take My Breath’ and ‘Moth To A Flame’ are full-on synth-pop dance hits whilst ‘Out of Time’ and ‘Starry Eyes’ present as modern pop ballads, lamenting failed love relationships.

As a whole, ‘Dawn FM‘ is a coherent, balanced and powerful artistic statement and comes as a refreshing invitation to listen to the album as a whole and get lost in the fantasy of Dawn FM, in a time when the major players in the pop music industry are often more focused on churning out mega-hits.

This week Ara City Radio’s listeners voted for ‘Out of Time’ as our track of the week.