"Trust me girl/You'll wanna be high for this," purrs a seducer near the beginning of this mysterious mix-tape debut. It's reasonable advice. A seamless, self-released concept album that set off an internet brushfire — complete with Twitter clues from evident co-conspirator Drake and Weeknd itself — it traces a woozy, debauched journey over nine slow jams that join the current conversation in hallucinatory r&b and indie rock: James Blake, Frank Ocean, jj, Salem, and Beach House. The latter even appear to get sampled here, twice: "Gila" bubbles up in "Loft Music," as does "Master of None" in "The Party & The After Party." (B-more, you have much to answer for.) The rest of the tracks are equally haunting: the rhythm of the aching "What You Need" is built around the surprisingly sad sound of what may be a straw sucking up the last drop of a milk shake — or something more potent.  

Artist to Watch: The Weeknd

Toronto singer Abel Tesfaye, who seems to be the entire group, has a striking high tenor: at points on "House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls," he sounds like Michael Jackson yelping into an intercom in a Propofol haze. It can all be disturbingly raw, even when — especially when — Weeknd overplay the tales of the tragic high life — check the plea "Bring the drugs, baby/I can bring my pain," on the killing, blue-black "Wicked Games." The wormy hooks and earnest falsettos suggest the possibility of ginormous hits if Weeknd were to clean things up a bit, both lyrically and sonically. But let's hope that doesn't happen too soon. (The production team was reportedly led by progressive Toronto hip-hop producers Martin "Doc" Mckinney and Illangelo.)

Listen to House of Balloons:

Gallery: Random Notes, Rock's Hottest Photos

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.