Eighties Haze

Saturdays = Youth
M83
Mute, 2008
4 stars

Just think - in fifteen or twenty years the music of the '00s will just be coming back into fashion. Shit that's a scary thought. However, if artists continue to channel the '80s as authentically as M83 do on Saturdays = Youth, we might just be listening to the '80s for the next century. This album shows us what the music of the '80s would have sounded like if it was made with the technology of today. Super-clean synths wash over filtered guitars, programmed beats and hazy vocals, but it doesn't feel 'dated' for a second. Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez has produced some of his finest work on this album, in particular the Degrassi-inspired single Graveyard Girl and the fantastic synth-fest that is Kim & Jessie. Tears For Fears meets My Bloody Valentine, and somehow the result is the sound of 2008.

Artwork: B+

Published in mX, Thursday May 1, 2008