The Weeknd Shares Gross “Gasoline” Video, Implies That Dawn FM Is Part Of A Trilogy, & Obliquely Claps Back At Critics

The Weeknd Shares Gross “Gasoline” Video, Implies That Dawn FM Is Part Of A Trilogy, & Obliquely Claps Back At Critics

Last week, four days after announcing its existence, the Weeknd released his new album Dawn FM. It’s great. The same day that the album came out, the Weeknd also dropped a video for the Dawn FM track “Sacrifice.” In the video, the Weeknd went back and forth between his present-day self and the old-man makeup that he wears on the album cover, and the clip revolved around some sort of druidic nightclub ritual. Today, the Weeknd has followed that video with an equally creepy clip from “Gasoline,” the neo-new wave thumper that serves as the de facto Dawn FM opener.

The “Gasoline” video come from director Matilda Finn, who’s also responsible for the Dawn FM cover art. The clip opens with a shot of ants crawling on an ear with a hearing aid. Most of the clip takes place at a Matrix Reloaded-style rave-orgy, and it’s another hallucinatory body-horror thing. The Weeknd sees his older self, who may or may not be some kind of hideous demon, and then beats him mercilessly. Some other stuff happens, too. It’s weird. Check it out below.

The Weeknd is also being cryptic on Twitter these days. Yesterday, he tweeted, “i wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?” He did not elaborate. So: Is Dawn FM part of a trilogy? Is After Hours part of that same trilogy, or the new album also a new beginning? Or maybe the music videos are the trilogy? (The last time the Weeknd prominently used the word “trilogy,” it was to describe his first three mixtapes.) He’s obviously leaving these questions open on purpose.

The Weeknd said that thing about the trilogy after a series of cryptic tweets that appear to be shots at the people who were disappointed with Dawn FM. The main thrust seems to be this line: “i love weirding you out.” We noticed! Here’s what he had to say for himself:

https://twitter.com/theweeknd/status/1480488508162600963

Maybe we should count this whole thing as further evidence that the Weeknd has contracted a bad case of A24 brain.

more from News