M83: Saturdays = Youth

M83's latest album has been described by critics, both favorably and unfavorably, as an homage to the music of the 1980s. This is probably the most obvious aspect of the album, noticeable from the first few bars of "You Appearing" and confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt by the Kate Bush soundalike vocals on "Up". On the whole, I find the result very satisfying. In fact, I can't think of anyone who could pull off such a tribute better than M83 has. Saturdays distills the best elements of new wave, shoegaze and other musical forms that comprised what came to be called alternative by the end of the decade. This album recalls a time when economic and political strife precipitated an explosion of interesting music that was commercially viable. Twenty years on, the cycle seems to be repeating. Saturdays couldn't have come out at a more auspicious time.