With M83 dropping Saturdays=Youth and Robyn dropping the clean version of her eponymous debut album stateside next Tuesday, I wanted to give a couple of brief review of these records very quickly, before I hit my weekend like a sledgehammer.

Saturdays=Youth is what you should probably start expecting from M83 from now on. It’s not as good as Before the Dawn Heals Us, but asking someone to recreate a masterpiece is a recipe for disaster. The record is quite good and has some truly excellent tracks. I wouldn’t pay money for it, but I definitely have the record on the d/l, and I plan to see his current tour if I can make it up to L.A. to see him play some of the new tracks. I think they’ll be better live. Saturdays=Youth is well-mixed, interestingly layered and never dull. It’s slow in parts, but not terribly so. I wish it were a little better, but maybe I’m holding M83 to an impossible standard.

As for Robyn’s Robyn, if you don’t have this record yet, then you need to find it. I have the dirty version that’s been floating around overseas. You can d/l the clean version right now, or you can wait for the hard copy to drop next week. This record is pop music at its absolute best, to the point that I would argue that anyone who doesn’t like this record is anti-fun. From the opening track to the final cut, Robyn screams “party music.” A shuffle of Robyn, Muscles, and Daft Punk’s Alive would probably be my favorite three hours at a party of all time right now.

All in all, I’d say you should find both these records. They definitely warrant at least a trial listen.

Also of note, I’m working on getting an advance copy of the new Portishead record.  When I get it, I’ll review it.