CD of The Week

M83 - Junk (Mute)

The most noteworthy (if undersold) aspect of Anthony Gonzalezââ?¬â?¢s output as M83 has almost always been its heart-on-sleeve quality. Even on 2011ââ?¬â?¢s beautifully bombastic breakthrough Hurry Up, Weââ?¬â?¢re Dreaming, the songs soared with the sense that he was as invested emotionally as he was technically in what he was doing, sax solos and all. Four years later, Junk seems to show him taking a different approach to things. From the album title to its freaky Fry Kid cover art, Gonzalezââ?¬â?¢s heart on his sleeve seems to have turned tongue in cheek. He almost presents like he wants to take the piss out himself as well as the ââ?¬Ë?80s that inspired him in the first place.

The results are alternately often fun, occasionally frustrating, and always fascinating. After all, The Decade That Made Us wasnââ?¬â?¢t all cool college rock and John Hughes soundtracks. There were plenty of sounds that made eyes roll as easily as well up, and those are the sounds that Gonzalez deals in throughout this record. Have a soft spot for Bette Midlerââ?¬â?¢s Beaches era? Youââ?¬â?¢ll crumble like a cookie for ââ?¬Å?For the Kidsââ?¬Â� with its (seriously) stunning vocal turn from Norwegian pop goddess/Transmission fave Susanne SundfÃ?¸r, at least until the creepy kids chorus kicks in. Itching for a Netflix revival of Bosom Buddies? M83 has the new theme song covered via the jaunty ââ?¬Å?Moon Crystal.ââ?¬Â� Junkââ?¬â?¢s cup runneth over with riches from this corner of the nostalgia vault, and Gonzalez commits to these sounds and their execution with the same conviction that made hearts melt on Saturdays=Youth. The issue is that irony has never necessarily been a quality one seeks in an M83 album.

Unsurprisingly, the albumââ?¬â?¢s most satisfying moments are the ones that heed closer to what M83 excelled at in the past. Single ââ?¬Å?Do It, Try Itââ?¬Â� and the Mai Lan-featuring ââ?¬Å?Laser Gunââ?¬Â� play like Hurry Up updated with urgent house piano. Elsewhere, Beck vehicle ââ?¬Å?Time Windââ?¬Â� draws a previously unseen through line between two artists, particularly Mr. Hansenââ?¬â?¢s Midnite Vultures era. ââ?¬Å?Road Blasterââ?¬Â� finds Gonzalez striking a more proper balance between aesthetics past and present, perhaps because he himself anchors the sax and synth squelches with his own vocals, something he doesnââ?¬â?¢t do nearly enough of on an album that takes such left turns from previous ones.

Make no mistake, ââ?¬Å?Midnight Cityââ?¬Â� aficionados. This album is messy. Moreover itââ?¬â?¢s messy in a way that M83 has never dared to be before, and seems to buck at the immaculate quality of its predecessors. But then again, itââ?¬â?¢s messy in the way that the ââ?¬Ë?80s often were in the musical sense. That is part of what makes them, and now M83, so memorable. One personââ?¬â?¢s Junk can always be anotherââ?¬â?¢s jewel.

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Review by Rob Huff