10 Artists You Should Listen to If You Like The Weeknd

With The Weeknd's Kiss Land in stores today, we dig up a few other acts worth checking out if you're a fan.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Today The Weeknd's album Kiss Land hits in stores. It isn't getting the best reviews, and to be honest, we a re a little disappointed. But hey, that stunning trifecta of 2011 mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence made for a some awfully heavy expectations. Some of the new stuff is great, like the dark, lustful "Belong To The World." But as music fiends, as all-week-long Weeknd fans, we're never satisfied. We want more and more.

One of the reasons Weeknd, a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye, became such a big deal when he first came out was because he was a shot in the arm for R&B, a genre that become fairly stagnant. In March 2011 when he dropped House of Balloons (just a month after Frank Ocean dropped Nostalgia, ULTRA) it was unlike anything we had heard. Not that his sound doesn't have its predecessors, but it was a new, very-21st-century thing.

So for the Weeknd fan hungry for more, this presents a challenge. Where else can we find our fix?

When we talked to the man himself, during his first ever interview for our recent cover story, he told us about his love for stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly. But everyone knows those guys are awesome. And rather than suggest names like Frank Ocean, Drake, and Miguel, all of whom you've also no doubt heard already, we decided to dig just a tad bit deeper. Here's 10 Artists You Should Listen to If You Like The Weeknd.

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Cocteau Twins

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Album To Check Out: Heaven to Las Vegas


If you're a fan of The Weeknd, you're already a fan of the Cocteau Twins. (And U.O.E.N.O.!) That's because Weeknd loves to sample the Scottish alternative rock band. On House of Balloons's cut "The Knowing" he sampled their song "Cherry Coloured Funk" from their 1990 album Heaven or Las Vegas. (And, yes, that's right, the title of the last track on Weeknd's Thursday EP, is taken from the title of that album.) However, even if you listened to all nine of Cocteau Twins' studio albums, you'd still miss out on some of their best material. They've eleased eight EPs of their own—lots more great music. Beyond that, the group's lead singer Elizabeth Fraser has lent her vocals to songs by everyone from Peter Gabriel to Massive Attack. Much like the Weeknd, she can croon for days and days—and while you might not always be able to make out the words, the anguish in her voice is beautiful beyond language.

Portishead

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Album To Check Out: DummyPortishead has quietly influenced hip-hop and R&B for years now. Everyone from Trackmasters to Tech N9ne to Kanye West have admitted they love the British band's music, and acts ranging from Marsha Ambrosius to ScHoolboy Q to Aaliyah have all sampled them. Even though these acts all managed to sample Portishead's music without any trouble, the same couldn't be said for The Weeknd. When Abel Tesfaye tried to sample their song "Machine Gun" for "Belong To The World," Portishead, for whatever reason, turned him down. Tesfaye altered the beat in response, but it wasn't enough. As soon as "Belong To The World" was released, Portishead's Geoff Barrow went on a Twitter rant, accusing The Weeknd of sampling without permission.

Regardless, none of that should take away from Portishead's incredible catalog. A standout is the group's 1994 debut, Dummy. Built on deep grooves, their dark, haunting, and atmospheric debut album is flawless.

Massive Attack

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Album To Check Out: Mezzanine


Fans of the TV show House will recognize Massive Attack's "Teardrop On Fire" as the show's theme song. Hopefully, fans of the show were inspired to explore Massive Attack's music further, because what they'd find is one of the most innovative and influential catalogs of the '90s. Massive Attack paved the road for the trip hop genre.

The group crafted cinematic soundscapes, dropped in hip-hop drums, and laced it all with touching vocals. "Weather Storm" is the sound of a hospital waiting room on a rainy night while waiting for a loved one to get out of surgery. Meanwhile, we're pretty sure "Exchange" is the song they play in the escalator up to heaven, or possibly Las Vegas. Though we recommend their 1998 classic Mezzanine—which includes unforgettable cuts like "Teardrop On Fire," "Exchange," "Black Milk," and "Man Next Door"—their preceding album, 1994's Protection, is a masterpiece as well.

Beach House

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Album To Check Out: Teen Dream


Compared to other artists on this list, Beach House's music doesn't sound all that much like The Weeknd. Although singer Victoria Legrand's airy vocals are reminiscent of Weeknd's, that's a fairly faint similarity in the grand scheme of things. That said, we'd just like to point out that on House of Balloons, "The Party & The After Party" samples Beach House's "Master of None," and "Loft Music" samples their song "Gila." That's gotta count for something, right?

Autre Ne Veut

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Album To Check Out: Anxiety


Autre Ne Veut's album Anxiety is one of the best albums of the year, and "Counting" is one of the year's best songs. Like The Weeknd, he often sings at a faint whimper, and built his buzz in 2010 with a mysterious backstory. He's emerged from the shadows a bit more in recent years—and we're hoping it continues. Because unlike The Weeknd, there's a warmth to his music that makes it all the more necessary. If you don't know his name, get familiar right here

BAGO

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Album To Check Out: Sunday's Best


Sometimes, it feels like we're the world's biggest BAGO fans, and we're okay with that. We've made the case for her haunting, slow moving Sunday's Best before, and we're willing to make it again. BAGO has the benefit of having talented West Coast producer Alexander Spit by her side, which definitely gives her a leg up. BAGO's warm voice is able to convey love and trust (something Weeknd doesn't seem capable of), but like Abel, she's at her best when singing about loss and betrayal.

How To Dress Well

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Album To Check Out: Total Loss


R&B meets electronic dance music in How To Dress Well's soul-baring escapism. How To Dress Well wrestles with his emotions and takes the listener on a journey through his consciousness. Similar to The Weeknd, it's easy to get lost in eerie vibrations and ghostly melodies that emerge from the rhythm's quivering pulse. In his most recent album, Total Loss, we join the artist in his mission to locate his spirit, and hopefully, along the way, we can find our own. Often bunched into the "PBR&B" category with Abel and Frank Ocean, How To Dress Well somehow hasn't made it to quite that level of fame. Still, the music should speak for itself. 

JMSN

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Album To Check Out: Priscilla

Fair or unfair, JMSN is worth mentioning on this list because he's often dubbed "the white Weeknd." But while Weeknd is a relative newcomer, JMSN could be considered an industry veteran, one who's been kicking around since 2005. (Get familiar right here.) JMSN dropped his first album in 2006, Love Arcade. Back then went by the name Snowhite, and toured with a band that also went by the name Love Arcade. After the band broke up, he reemerged as Christian TV, but he never saw the release of an actual album.

Since then, he split with his label, changed his name to JMSN, and dropped Priscilla. He dubbed the music "Hippie R&B" and won over critics with his pensive production. Granted, he did borrow some of his dark aesthetic from The Weeknd, but he's managed to build a whole new kind of buzz. He's working on an album with Ab-Soul called Unit 6, which we hope will help him shed the comparisons.

The Internet

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Album To Check Out: Purple Naked Ladies


In one of his best reviews ever, the self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics" Robert Christgau wrote a three word review for Portishead's Dummy: "Sade for androids." We'd describe The Internet's Purple Naked Ladies as "Sade for Android users." Okay fine, The Internet doesn't feature the kind of vocal stylings Ms. Adu is known for (then again, who does?) But like the Weeknd, they make the kind of loft music you play when you're home alone, and thankful for it. If "Glass Table Girls" from House of Balloons, made you want to snort a pile of coke, The Internet's "Cocaine" will put a tickle on that same Jones's head.

August Alsina

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Album To Check Out: The Product II


With The Weeknd firmly established as one of the most important voices in R&B today, we're still looking at the rising class of R&B stars. There are a few names that come to mind, but none more potent than August Alsina. Whereas a lot of Weeknd's appeal came from anonymity, the most interesting part about Alsina might be his backstory. He's lived quite a life already, and has dealt with a fair amount of death. To paraphrase Kanye, great art comes from great suffering, but also from great artists. Here's to hoping Alsina can fit the bill and become the next big R&B star. Time will tell.

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