Album Review: M83's 'Junk' is Not What We Expected
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When word got out that M83 had another album planned, fans began stirring with excitement given the incredible discography Anthony Gonzalez had built so far.
With the recently release album titled, Junk, it looks like Gonzalez sprinkled a bit of a new twist onto his already successful sound.
Junk is at times pretty successful and and other times it sounds a bit too dated. Tracks like "Moon Crystal," "For The Kids" featuring Susanne Sundf?r, "Atlantique Sud" featuring Mai Lan and "Time Wind" featuring Beck are the examples of that super dated sound.
We've seen Gonzalez and the M83 name find a happy medium between the late 70s/80s sound and present day electronic influence.
However, these four tracks don't seem to contain that balance that we all loved on projects like Hurry Up, We're Dreaming and Saturdays = Youth.
That being said the rest of the M83 album (stream below) is pretty solid.
"Do It, Try it" opens up Junk with a funky vibe that is a bit different, however, when the song hits its chorus, the layers of sound burst into a colorful display making its way through your ears and into your mind.
The single, "Go!" featuring Mai Lan balances on the tightrope of being too dated, however, it is saved by it's arrangement and Mai Lan's breathy echoing lyrics with the upbeat chorus. Meanwhile, legendary guitarist Steve Vai's solo on "Go!" is just out of this world.
"Walkaway Blues" featuring Jordan Lawlor is a mellow track with a powerful solo and it does work pretty well.
Many of the stand out pieces on the album actually come in the form of the instrumental breaks like, "The Wizard," "Tension" and "Ludivine." Overall Junk is an ambitious and solid album but it's not as affective as M83's previous albums.