M83

'Saturdays = Youth'

Again, meant to be a little more proactive w/ a review for this one, but better late than never. I remember when the Postal Service album, 'Give Up', first came out and in my recommendation provided to anybody who would listen...i'd always describe it as 'the soundtrack to the best John Hughes movie never made'. Looks like I was wrong...happily wrong.

I've always been a big M83 fan, ever since being drawn in by the album cover to listen to 'Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts' at a listening station in the now defunct Tower Records. I was blown away by how Mark Gonzalez could meld simple synths and drum machines into such an orchestral, expansive body of work...still am, actually.

On the ambitious follow-up, 'Before the Dawn Heals Us', less blip/glitch, more rhythmic structure and the addition of vocals showed a leaning towards a glossier (albeit occasionally spooky) synth-pop over it's more ambient predecessor. The results were equally as cool and hinted at things to come.

'Saturdays = Youth' somehow manages to be a throwback album of sorts, while retaining a freshness about it that removes any possible cliche in it's sound. The cinematic approach to sound rife on the previous album continues here, but more 'Sixteen Candles' than Michael Mann's 'Manhunter' this go around. While the almost pristine 80's aesthetic is there on both, M83 travels a more uncertain, optimistic road more akin to the latter.

Even down to the 'Breakfast Club'-esque album cover, this disc bleeds the stylized Hollywood conceptualization of life as a teenager. I don't know who 'Kim & Jessie' are, but 'they are crazy about romance and illusion'. As corny as that looks on paper, it makes for a great song and, really, even in real life...what teenager isn't? That cute goth girl from 5th period English gets a sweeping, uptempo shout-out on the awesome 'Graveyard Girl'. I just wonder if she was invited along for the musical last road trip of the Summer on 'Highway of Endless Dreams'? Perhaps, she was too busy sitting on a coffee table w/ the school jock and a birthday cake while 'Too Late' plays in the distance?

I totally understand how that all sounds exceedingly schmaltzy and not at all like 'real' life. Thing is, while trapped inside a hard shell of sarcasm and cynicism to protect yourself from the uncertainty of High School...didn't we all long for an escape from that reality? Escaping to a place where the geek really does get to make out w/ the head cheerleader and the football captain is best pals w/ the metalhead that skips art class to smoke cigarettes? Maybe that's just how I remember it.

Anyhow, it's a great trip and the whole 'straight out of a movie' vibe resonates clear down to the 11-minute final track that serves as the perfect 'closing credits'. It dropped last Tuesday and is available on iTunes or wherever you usually grab your music from. If you're still stuck in class, check out a sample until the bell rings in the orange box to the right.