The Weeknd - Kiss Land

The collective response to Abel Tesfaye’s – AKA The Weeknd’s – announcement that his next release would be called Kiss Land was more or less “?!”. It didn’t make sense then, and it still doesn’t really make sense now that an actual eight-minute track has been unveiled via YouTube, featuring a sprawling song structure and stills from porn. Tesfaye’s “the only thing you’re taking / Is your clothes off, baby” shtick is getting a bit tired, but the adventurous sound and “this ain’t nothing to relate to” refrain of this single point towards an album that will be an interesting departure for Tesfaye at least in terms of style and approach, if not in subject matter.

The Weeknd’s debut album is due later this year.