Review: The Weeknd sounds so alone on new song

The Weeknd, ‘Cry for Me’

The Weeknd’s quest for the ultimate combination of pop formula and self-destructive misery continues in “Cry for Me” from his new album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” The song is a suicide note left as a voice message: “I can see myself and I’m not breathing,” he sings. “At least you’ll play a song when I’m gone.” There’s a trap beat, minor-key synthesizers, bits of distorted guitar and pitch-shifted vocals, spanning genres but still sounding oh so alone.

Jennie featuring Dominic Fike, ‘Love Hangover’

K-pop star Jennie, from Blackpink, coos, “I swore I’d never do it again — until you came over,” with a sly tone that mixes a lot of satisfaction with just a tinge of regret. Her partner, Dominic Fike, raps about how he’s ducking his responsibilities as a “baby father.” But the easy swagger of the beat and the cushiony backup vocals suggest that the hookups will continue.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, ‘Turned to Dust (Rolling On)’

Will Oldham, who records as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, calmly ponders mortality in “Turned to Dust (Rolling On)” from a new album full of grizzled, philosophical songs, “The Purple Bird.” Recorded with seasoned Nashville sidemen, the countryish, organ-infused march “Turned to Dust” notes, “It won’t be long till we’re gone” and observes, “When I see the things that man can do / It makes this poor heart break.” The song takes comfort in simple perseverance, in rolling on, but the shakiness in Oldham’s voice leaves room for doubts.

Alison Krauss & Union Station, ‘Looks like the End of the Road’

Krauss has reconvened her string-centered band, Union Station, for their first album together since 2011; “Arcadia” is due in March. “Looks like the End of the Road,” written by Jeremy Lister, is a mournful farewell to “the world that I know,” a waltz carrying lyrics of misfortune and betrayal. The bitterness is only heightened by the purity of Krauss’ voice, answered by Jerry Douglas’ measured, melodic slide-guitar solos.

Momma, ‘I Want You (Fever)’

“Take it apart and build it again,” sing the songwriters and vocalists in Momma, Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman. What they’ve rebuilt in this track is the layered guitars, effects and voices of 1990s rock, from bands like the Breeders, Dinosaur Jr. and Pixies: multitracking, distortion, echo-delays, reversed riffs, all of them stacked and restacked. The song exults in an infidelity that’s also a reunion: “Do you think she knows we’re back together?” It equates a musical revival with a rekindled romance.

JON PARELES, New York Times

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