R&B emoter the Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) emerged in 2011 under a shroud of mystery, with little inclination to play live, conduct interviews or even sign to a label. Critics widely praised the trio of mixtapes he released that year, applauding his moody, nocturnal brand of R&B and penchant for sampling indie rock (Beach House, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Cocteau Twins). The Weeknd’s major-label debut follows that template, with an increased production presence that aims for audiophiles with expensive speaker systems. “Kiss Land” exists as elegant headphone fare until it explodes into its seventh track, “Wanderlust,” which serves as the Weeknd’s definition of a club banger. The singer’s vocal runs reach for Michael Jackson territory, but that’s often where the R&B tag ends. His beats have a pummeling, industrial quality to them, and if the percussive backbone of “Belong to the World” sounds familiar, that’s because it’s sampled from Portishead’s 2008 cut “Machine Gun.”
