M83 - Saturdays=Youth

M83
Saturdays=Youth
(Mute)

Anthony Gonzalez has always had a knack for weaving cinematic soundscapes into relatively straightforward dream-pop songs, but on M83's latest record, Saturdays=Youth, he takes that idea to the next level. Set against a backdrop of 80's synth-pop, massive reverb and heavy doses of vocal melody, Gonzalez lyrically and musically captures the essence and pays tribute to uncertain teenage emotion with each track. This record is a concept of sorts, each song a chapter in the densely layered soundtrack to individual moments in adolescent life – falling in love ("Dark Moves of Love"), going out and doing drugs with your friends ("Couleurs"), alienation ("Graveyard Girl"), fear ("Kim and Jessie") and escape ("Highway of Endless Dreams"). With Saturdays=Youth, Gonzalez has created one of the most conceptually transcendent records in years because, no matter what, everyone was a teenager once and experienced the highs and lows that go along with being young.