M83's Anthony Gonzalez has always pumped up his DIY techno fantasies with big slabs of '80s-style synths, which gave his music the illusion of arena-size significance. But he's never really had the songs to totally pull it off. On Saturdays=Youth, Gonzalez goes all out with a Brat Pack fetish that unreels over the course of the album like a TNT coming-of-age-movie extravaganza. He essentially redesigns the M83 concept, shoving aside his usual too-long techno cuts for actual tunes sung by Morgan Kibby, a Kate Bush soundalike he met on MySpace. Only the eight-minute club jam "Couleurs" dips into his old style. And like any good techno maven, Gonzalez saves the best cuts for himself, singing Saturdays=Youth highlights "Kim & Jessie" and "Graveyard Girl."
