M83

Saturdays = Youth

[3.5/5]

If midnight whispers of “Cocteau Twins” or “Molly Ringwald” cause spontaneous orgasms in those pretty Goth panties, then Saturdays = Youth will push all the right buttons. M83’s latest flight into the synthesized stratosphere is so steeped in ’80s influences, it’s as if teen filmmaker John Hughes was lurking behind the keyboards. Accordingly, M83 main man Anthony Gonzalez smoothes out some of the sonic fuzz from past albums in favor of a warmer, Y-chromosome pop sound culled from the drug-fueled hedonism of his adolescence. So while the music is still as narcotic and gorgeous as ever–the swooning swirl of “We Own The Sky” and “Graveyard Girl” sees to that–the integration of female vocalist Morgan Kibby (the Romanovs) brings M83 a new soaring soul, wooshing by so fast, it blows out all 16 candles in a heartbeat’s time. (MUTE) Erick Haight