Saturdays = Youth [LP]

by M83

Overview

Like fellow Frenchmen Air and Daft Punk, M83's Anthony Gonzalez has the knack for making sounds others might think of as outdated, or even tacky, into music that feels stylish and fresh. Saturdays=Youth lives up to its evocative title, but the youth it captures is filtered through nostalgia for the unrepentantly fake sounds of the '80s, transforming them into delicate fantasy pop. Synths whoosh like wind tunnels and ping like lasers, guitars are whipped into ethereal froth, the drums are robotic and proud of it, and the production reproduces the cleaner-than-clean, almost brittle style of the era almost too perfectly. The largely instrumental "Couleurs" races through the night on synth and drum swells that haven't been heard since Miami Vice's heyday, while "Skin of the Night" sounds like it borrows Phil Collins' kit from No Jacket Required. Though Saturdays=Youth often plays like a love letter to artists ranging from the Cocteau Twins to Mr. Mister, it never seems like an exercise designed to just re-create those sounds. The cinematic feel of Before the Dawn Heals Us is stronger than ever here, from the 11-minute finale "Midnight Souls Still Remain," which unfolds like closing credits, to the Breakfast Club-meets-fashion shoot album cover, which makes Saturdays=Youth appear to be the soundtrack to the most glamorous film John Hughes never made. This hyper-stylized teen romance and angst drive the album, taking it to the highest highs and the lowest lows. "We Own the Sky" is jubilant, stretching out into a summery haze of airy vocals and synths; "Too Late" contemplates the end in melodramatic, ultra-romantic fashion, ending with a whispered "you, always." Saturdays=Youth also features some of M83's purest pop yet, which provide many of the album's standouts. "Kim & Jessie" heart-racing young love is one of Gonzalez's finest sonic confections, along with "Graveyard Girl" and the Kate Bush-worshiping "Up!," a sci-fi fairy tale that boasts some fittingly unearthly singing by guest vocalist Morgan Kibby. As super-stylized as its sounds and emotions are, Saturdays=Youth always seems genuine, even when it feels like its songs are made from the memories of other songs. For all of its nostalgic haze, it's some of M83's most focused music. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2015
Label:	Mute Us
UPC:	0724596962916
Rank:	31236

Tracks

1. You Appearing
2. Kim & Jessie
3. Skin of the Night
4. Graveyard Girl
5. Couleurs
6. Up!
7. We Own the Sky
8. Highway of Endless Dreams
9. Too Late
10. Dark Moves of Love
11. Midnight Souls Still Remain

Album Credits

Performance Credits

M83   Primary Artist
Ewan Pearson   Keyboards,Co-Producer
Loic Maurin   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Guitar (Bass)
Morgan Kibby   Piano,Vocals,Keyboards
Anthony Gonzalez   Bass,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Co-Producer,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Ken Thomas   Mixing,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Audio Production
Ewan Pearson   Producer,Pre-Production,Audio Production
Loic Maurin   Group Member
Jori Hulkkonen   Remix Engineer
Richard Matthews   Assistant Engineer
Tom Bailey   Mixing Assistant,Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Yuksek   Remix Engineer
Montag   Remix Engineer
Morgan Kibby   Composer,Group Member
Parkerlab   Remix Engineer
Louise Downer   Design
Maps   Remix Engineer
Jolyon Thomas   Guitar Technician
Anthony Gonzalez   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Audio Production
Yann Gonzalez   Composer