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[jeph]

Thoughts?

My initial impressions are that it's really good but also incredibly corny, just like Before the Dawn Heals Us. Like, "Skin of the Night" is mindblowingly pretty, except for those fucking pitched toms aaaaugh.

M83 are one of those bands where I go "wow, this is really cheesy" and then feel bad about thinking it. It's like, I can handle when bands do this sort of goofy synth-rock stuff with a wink and a nudge, but to see it presented with a TOTALLY STRAIGHT FACE is a little off-putting. Which is totally shitty! I should be able to just rock out to the pitched toms! YOU GUYS I'VE BEEN IMMERSED IN IRONY FOR TOO LONG AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HONESTLY APPRECIATE THINGS ANYMORE HLAGUBAGLUHALGH

The monologue on "Graveyard Girl" is simultaneously HILARIOUS OMG LIVEJOURNAL ENTRY and a sweet, nostalgic look back at being fifteen and OMG EVERYTHING IS WORTHLESS. It's this kind of duality that seems to inform everything M83 does, and I'm not sure if it's genuinely kind of dumb, or if I'm just too cynical to properly enjoy it.

I'll probably add more to this as I get through the rest of the album, these are just the initial impressions as I listen to it for the first time.

Edit #1: Okay "Couleurs" is just fucking badass. That FUCKING HOLY SHIT BREAKDOWN 2/3 of the way in. Oh my god. Whole record made worthwhile by this one song. The rest can be moaning about dead bunnies and I still rate it a thumbs up.

[Jackie Blue]

Yeah, I don't get the "I can't enjoy this because it is cheezy" thing I've been hearing in a lot of reviews.  "Graveyard Girl" is a magnificent song.  Maybe it's an age thing; if you're old enough to have been in highschool before irony and sarcasm became the only possible ways of expressing oneself (I blame the internet) then it's easier to enjoy this album for what it is.

[jeph]

I'm pretty sure it's not an age thing; I'm older than you, and I think the M83 guy is even older than me. I think it's because for a long, long time, all the 80s signifiers that we hear on this record were mainly used in an ironic or even derogatory sense, so to hear them being used sincerely and not merely as humorous set-dressing takes some getting used to.

It also helps to know that this is meant to be his homage to 80's music. It certainly helps me take the goofier stuff with a reasonable grain of salt.

[Jackie Blue]

I'm pretty sure it's not an age thing; I'm older than you, and I think the M83 guy is even older than me.

No, you're not.  I'll be 33 on the 7th.

[muteKi]

I have always found hipster irony to be a completely confusing thing. You would expose yourself to horrible music that you don't enjoy because you enjoy it?
Or because you enjoy torturing yourself?

What have I missed here?

[Jackie Blue]

Most hipster irony is more like "I enjoy this music, but I can't admit that it's good because it's not REAL MUSIC, so I pretend I tihnk it's funny."

[jeph]

I'm pretty sure it's not an age thing; I'm older than you, and I think the M83 guy is even older than me.

No, you're not.  I'll be 33 on the 7th.

Oh! Weird, I coulda sworn I read a thread somewhere where you were like 22.

NEVERMIND THEN

[Shadows Collide]

Well it's about being teenage in the 80s, so what could be labeled cheese is really nostalgia for a forgone era. I mean, look at the girl in the dress on the cover. Sixteen Candles, anyone? In an interview he said he was aiming for a Cocteau Twins/ Simple Minds etc. sound, in which  case, this cannot be any less than amazing.

[Daft pun]

Well, I'm torn on this one. I like all his previous work, and this new stuff doesn't stray too far from that path, but this does sound immensely cheesy at times. French DJ's/bands do have a knack for making cheesy sound awesome, it's just that this is a bit much.

It's still an enjoyable record though and Couleurs is definitely the stand-out track.

Plus I get to see this live next week. WHEEEEEEEEEE

[Jackie Blue]

You know what?  I could really stand to do without every single person referring to this album as "cheezy".

When I first heard it all I could think was "this sounds like the last album, only now with 50% more Slowdive".

Sunny/dreampop =/= cheezy.

[amok]

Yeah, exactly.

[n]thing the love for Couleurs and oh my god, 'Up!' - I'm a sucker for this kind of song and it's flawless.

[Daft pun]

You know what?  I could really stand to do without every single person referring to this album as "cheezy".

When I first heard it all I could think was "this sounds like the last album, only now with 50% more Slowdive".

Sunny/dreampop =/= cheezy.

It just has this effect on people, I can't help that when I listen to this album it just feels, err, awkward I guess.

[Clobbersaurus]

there was a quasi discussion in the silly top 10 of 2008 thread:
http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,18676.250.html
posted my thoughts on it there.

i kept checking slsk for the leak all of march when i saw that it had been reviewed by a few magazines already, but didn't read any of the reviews. i like to just dive into an album without any expectations. It made the album all the more precious and i'm glad i've avoided all the ridiculous "oh this is a silly album blah blah blah" talk up until now. It's a lovely album and i see nothing particularly ironic about it.

i was able to nab it three weeks ago, and i haven't stopped listening to it since!