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**M83 - Junk**
★★★☆☆

Anthony Gonzalez has always been a restless soul. After conquering the world with 2011's cinematic masterpiece *Hurry Up, We're Dreaming*, the French electronic auteur behind M83 found himself at a crossroads. The double album had spawned the ubiquitous "Midnight City" – a track so omnipresent it soundtracked everything from car adverts to coming-of-age films – and suddenly Gonzalez was no longer the cult hero crafting ambient soundscapes for the initiated. He was, somewhat bewilderingly, a pop star.

Rather than retreat into familiar territory, Gonzalez did what any self-respecting artist would do when faced with unexpected mainstream success: he made his most divisive album yet. *Junk*, released in April 2016, represents M83's most audacious left turn – a kaleidoscopic journey through 80s nostalgia that sounds like it was beamed directly from the Stranger Things dimension, complete with talk-show interludes and enough saxophone to make Kenny G blush.

The album's genesis lies in Gonzalez's childhood obsession with 80s television and pop culture. Having spent his youth absorbing everything from Miami Vice to cheesy variety shows, he approached *Junk* as an exercise in pure escapism – a sonic time machine that would transport listeners to an era of neon-soaked excess and unabashed sentimentality. The result is M83's most polarising work: a 16-track odyssey that's simultaneously their most playful and most frustrating release.

From the opening strains of "Do It, Try It," with its talk-show sample and disco-funk groove, it's clear this isn't the M83 of old. Gone are the shoegaze guitars and ethereal vocals that defined early classics like *Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts*. Instead, Gonzalez serves up a heady cocktail of yacht rock, new wave, and unashamed cheese. It's as if he's deliberately testing his fanbase's loyalty, seeing how far he can push his sound before it snaps entirely.

When *Junk* works, it's genuinely thrilling. "Go!" is a euphoric rush of synthesised bliss, all pulsing basslines and soaring melodies that recall the best of Human League or Depeche Mode. "Moon Crystal" strips things back to gorgeous ambient minimalism, proving Gonzalez hasn't entirely abandoned his talent for creating immersive sonic landscapes. The Mai Lan-featuring "Laser Gun" is pure pop perfection – a sugary confection that somehow manages to be both deeply silly and utterly irresistible.

But for every moment of inspired lunacy, there's a track that feels like pastiche for pastiche's sake. The saxophone-heavy "Solitude" meanders without purpose, while "Tension" lives up to its name for all the wrong reasons. The album's talk-show interludes, featuring fictional host Susanne and her various guests, initially charm but quickly outstay their welcome. It's a conceptual framework that feels half-baked, as if Gonzalez couldn't quite commit to the full absurdist vision.

The album's centrepiece, "Road Blaster," epitomises both *Junk*'s strengths and weaknesses. A seven-minute epic that builds from ambient beginnings to full-blown synthwave euphoria, it's undeniably thrilling when it hits its stride. Yet it also feels oddly hollow – all surface shimmer with little of the emotional depth that made *Hurry Up, We're Dreaming* so compelling.

Perhaps that's the point. *Junk* isn't trying to be profound; it's an exercise in pure aesthetic pleasure, a love letter to an era when music videos featured sports cars and saxophone solos were considered the height of sophistication. Viewed through this lens, the album's occasional shallowness becomes a feature rather than a bug.

Five years on, *Junk* feels like M83's *Around the World in a Day* – a necessary creative detour that cleared the palate for future exploration. While it didn't spawn any "Midnight City"-sized hits, its influence can be heard in the ongoing synthwave revival and Gonzalez's subsequent film scoring work. It stands as proof that even established artists need permission to play, even if the results don't always