Editor’s Note: Welcome to Quarantainment, Vanyaland’s new series on what to watch, what to hear, and how to deal as the world engages in social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19. We’re all at home, we’re all online, and we’re all in this together. #StayTheFHome
We got caught dead in our tracks a few weeks ago when we first heard The Weeknd’s spellbinding synthwave banger “Blinding Lights”, which filled us with the type of seductive electronic-pop warmth we haven’t felt from Abel Tesfaye since he dropped “The Hills.” It turned out to be a pretty fantastic sonic tone-setter for The Weeknd’s new album, this past Friday’s grand After Hours LP, and just a few short days beyond its release we’re already given a deluxe edition that introduces a slate of remixes. Included in the lot is a “Chromatics Remix”, where Johnny Jewel gives “Blinding Lights” a more deliberate, lowkey gloss, and pairs Tesfaye’s vocal desperation with a new verse voiced by Chromatics’ Ruth Radelet. It adds an entirely new dimension to an already essential track. Give it a spin below.