Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Capsule Review - Saturdays = Youth


M83 - Saturdays = Youth


JTM Grade: 80%


The French ambient pop act M83 takes us on another dreamy, nostalgic trip through the synth-heavy 80s on this latest release. There's a marked increase in vocal tracks compared to prior albums' mainly instrumental fare. Truly, Saturdays = Youth is as close to a pop record as M83 is likely to get but the cinematic and retro synth sounds continue to dominate the production, and I mean dominate. If you're familiar with their stuff, you'll know what I mean...if you're not, then just close your eyes and imagine what the 80s sound like and that'll get you pretty close to M83's sound. I mean god, look at the cover art? Is that Molly Ringwald?! As for those vocal tracks, I am less enthusiastic about the lead female vocalist (not sure who it is) than main man Anthony Gonzalez's voice, but on repeated listens what at first came across as cheesy or excessively melodramatic, later reveals itself to be surprisingly emotive. Even as I write this, it's growin' on me.

Here's the video for 'Graveyard Girl'...

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