So Where Will You Be On Saturday Morning?

M83 - Kim & Jessie (MP3)

Whilst the John Hughes film soundtrack reference made in every review of M83’s new album ‘Saturdays = Youth’ might not be the product of the most insightful journalism (the press release does a good job of making it more than clear that that was what Anthony Gonzalez was going for), I must agree that it does sound like that ultimate 80’s high school movie that, well, John Hughes never actually got around to making: and ‘Kim & Jessie’ would definitely be played over the closing credits. Just check-out what happens halfway through the bridge at 2 minutes 27 seconds, and then there’s that guitar that plays over the fade that you could swear he’s just lifted from one of Tears For Fears’ finest. Heck, it sounds like it could even have been in that episode of Futurama. And I mean all of this in the best possible way.

It still sounds like M83, but in many ways ‘Saturdays = Youth’ is also so so far away from what he’s done before (just look at the cover for starters). You might have to listen to the whole album to understand what I’m trying to get at, but he sums it up quite succinctly in this explanation of where ‘Kim & Jessie’ came from:

“A lot of people always tell me that M83 is always about melancholy music, so I wanted to write something happy with hooks.”

So apparently it’s that easy to put together something that conjures the very essence of those particular films (as directed by John Hughes or otherwise) as viscerally as one of my favourite scenes in any film (incidentally I’ve got that particular track on a rather ace four leaf clover shaped picture disc that you’d have to pry from my cold, dead hands).

And what’s even better is that it’s sung with the cutest little French accent: if only Monsieur M83 was a mademoiselle *sigh*.

On a couple of completely unrelated notes: the latest broadcast over on Radio Common comes courtesy of Naive Melody’s (and occasional Best Foot Forward super-subs) Slippery People; and Phoenix tease us by releasing a track from their yet-to-be-released new album via some convoluted promotional nonsense.

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