Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 25
 At the bend of the road to oblivion April 16, 2008
Bernard Mickey Wrangle (Plano, TX USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the most perfect M83 album yet. Compared to Gonzalez's previous ambitious, yet somewhat tiresome When the Dawn Heals Us, Saturdays=Youth is a refinedly concentrated short story of shoegaze/retro bliss. The undeniable melodrama of his fragmented narratives (see "Graveyard Girl") is more digestably sparse in the smaller architecture of the 11-song heartbeat; but the awkward, naive statements effectively serve to enhance the awkward stages of Gonzalez's characters. The vulnerable, diaphanous and hopeful retro sensibility breathes vividly in Gonzalez's soul, and yet his carefully chosen sounds reveal the added shimmer and depth of 21st century techno. His tunes are so thoughtfully derived with historical precision that they work to disarmingly transfigure a pure moment from the 80s (perhaps even more pure...). Moreover, Saturdays=Youth is so obsessed with avoiding even the slightest hint of superfluous ambience and percussion that the effect is slick and masterful.
The artwork says it all: Francis Bacon-ly beautiful, fashion-conscious kiddos brim-full of inexplicable emotions, gathering at the edge of an autumnal wood. The deep colors, pale fires within those fading trees is a testament not to what those kids are feeling, but rather that they are still able to feel at all. It's easy to roll busy eyes and judge a scene like this as the classic Western petri dish of youthful self-obsession--self-fulfilling Goth-mentalities of longing and despair; obstinate druggies replaying irrational fantasies in their growingly incompatible minds; lone dancers, searching aimlessly; unfounded Greco ideals of divine love that serve consumed egos. Even while Gonzalez may be having some fun with certain trendy, filmatic cliches of the past, I think his vision suggests something perhaps more important--it's a photographic warning of the death-nail engaged into the hearts of the eager by a matured society, dulled into oblivion by its perpetually successful ritual of grinding every innate emotion you have into vapor. In these kids' faces gradually appears the fear of creativity's death.
Gonzalez's youths represent the last ceremonies of emotional freedom. They not only inhabit the earth, but apprehend it. They meditate within the private spheres of night, resting on Whitman's bed under the stars of contemplation. They celebrate the loves of their friends, immortalizing their names in harmony. They embrace their dustness like the Beats chasing their Beatrices. They are infused with everything.
But the innumerable stresses will be sent; it will invite itself into the very fabric of their clothing. They'll forget how it all went exactly.
 M83 progresses from a molecule to a full DNA strand! May 4, 2008
C. Fjerstad (Minneapolis, MN)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
What an exciting new album from M83! It seems M83 has decided to mix their futuristic sound with a little bit of the past in this new entry to their catalog. From the album cover serving as an homage to teen movies of the 80's, to the new wave song structures, atmospheres, and synth sounds, you'll get a pleasant mixture of feelings from this!
As expected, the album is extremely tranquil and paralyzing, the majority of the time. You'll definitely get the ethereal floating you're probably hoping for as a longtime m83 fan. For those unfamiliar, I would say expect a nice cross between Air and Orbital, with a pinch of your favorite 80's pop on this record.
The record opens with a nice therapeutic feeling track, "You, Appearing", but then bursting out immediately with a swirl of energetic sounds and portrayed colors with "Kim & Jessie", one of the standout tracks of the album. Next up is my personal favorite song on the album, "Skin of the Night", which features guest female vocals that are intensely angelic. The track feels like it SHOULD be the theme song to THE LOST BOYS 2 if someone was cool enough to make it this year. Other standout tracks include "Couleurs" which is the danciest track on the album and is most reminiscent of classic techno like Orbital and the likes. Also, "Up!", is the other track featuring the same female vocalist who really makes this album the ethereal ride is needs to be.
The only weak parts of this album that stops it from getting the higher rating, is that it boasts "Graveyard Girl" as it's single, which is, in my opinion, the cheesiest and weakest M83 song in their entire history. It's another one of those tracks that is an obvious throwback to New Wave but unfortunately the chord progressions he chose to use will have you feeling like you've already heard this song a million times before, and there's nothing about it that really gives it it's own character or makes you want to listen to the song again. Other than that, the album itself doesn't really flow that perfectly all the way through, it feels more like separate unrelated tracks, plopped together for a release, but you can't always expect perfectly flowing album structures!
In the end, a wonderful release from M83! One of my favorite listens of the year so far, aside from the new Portishead, which is absolutely great. M83 is one of the more important artists in electronic music right now and anyone who's not a fan yet should take the time to check it out. Also, listen to 2005's "Before the Dawn Heals Us" - a wonderful, wonderful album.
 Poised to take on the world ..then stumble.. June 9, 2008
M. C. Horn (San Francisco, Ca. United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Last year, they were at the top of their game.. now we see with the release of Saturdays=Youth, M83 is more of a one trick pony, then the wunderkind band that we were supposed to believe they were... hey, it's a good solid album, but offers very little in depth from their previous releases.. I was really looking forward to growth and development, but even the samples (vocal bits, etc) were the same.. c'mon boys, get some more source material.. we already heard about the girl driving with her mom.. what comes next? We're patiently waiting..
 voice overs? they almost had me... June 18, 2008
radio girl
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
ok, ok, so this new wave ish is catchy. but just as they were grabbing my attention with the likes of, say, a track like "graveyard girl" (which sounds unmistakably similar to the bands who actually pioneered this sound -- new order, the smiths, etc.) -- BAM, there's a girl giving a dramatic monologue in the middle of the track! how tacky and pretentious! that's enough for me to write an entire album off.
Wish Saturdays=Everyday April 18, 2008
cue-bert (Chicago, IL USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought Saturdays=Youth on the first warm day after a brutal winter and listened to it at work. Now, I really like my job - but by about the 5th track, it was impossible for me to fight the overwhelming need to spend the rest of the afternoon walking outside aimlessly with headphones on. That's the best way I can describe the album - the warm synths, great 80s-inspired vocal lines and overall huge sound feel like the first day of spring. Open up all the windows, blast this and feel awesome.
*I like almost all the songs, but Skin of the Night and Until the Night is Over are my current favorites.
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