The Daily Spin, January 13
M83 | Junk
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023. We’ve a baker’s dozen of reviews!
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Junk (2016)
Artist: M83
Link:
M83 creates musical odysseys - it’s why albums that hold to a story, a journaled format, are among his best projects. 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is a fantastic example of what indietronica can be, with Anthony Gonzalez’s talent more than apparent throughout as he winds through a sort of vaguely retro-themed feeling.
Junk comes towards what feels like the back end of his journey, when considering his career at large - nearly 20 years after he began his travels, it’s come to this - and all things considered, I never really understood why this album was frowned upon comparatively.
I think where it stumbles is that there’s less feeling of a story and more that this is a collection of individual pieces - a gallery, if you would. There are times where that can really work, but more often than not the lack of continuity and cohesion throughout the album works against what M83 does - because at the heart of the project, that style shines the most when it’s something that can be listened through with a consistent feeling to it.
Certain songs on the album shine in particular - “Walkway Blues” is jazzy and smooth while despairing, “Go!” is a runner gone wild, chaotic but earnest, and “Do It, Try It” is anthemic in all the best ways, relying on powerful keyboards to build, drop, and build again throughout.
This album is many things, but it is definitely not junk.
Rating: 8.1/10
Best Tracks: Walkway Blues; Do It, Try It; Go!
Worst Tracks: Bibi the Dog