Albums to watch

DSVII

M83

DSVII

Full-length studio release number eight from France's Anthony Gonzalez is a sequel to 2007's Digital Shades Vol. 1 inspired by early video game soundtracks, '80s sci-fi/fantasy films and analog synth pioneers such as Suzanne Ciani, Mort Garson, Brian Eno and John Carpenter

ADM rating[?]

6.4

Label
Naïve / Mute
UK Release date
20/09/2019
US Release date
20/09/2019
  1. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    If at times the record feels a little too safe, this feeling is punctured before long by an irresistibly cute melody or a chord sequence that resolves in just the right way, and the listener is drawn back into the pastel world that M83 create here
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  2. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    Released 12 years after Digital Shades Vol. 1, M83’s new collection of instrumentals doubles as a playful tribute to classic video-game soundtracks
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  3. 7.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    DSVII remains a cohesive, intriguing sonic detour for M83, even if certain moments are more engaging and captivating than others
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  4. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    Fans who thought the stricter pop playbook Gonzalez has been using recently was perhaps too strict should find much to like in these more open-ended pieces. For the rest of us, DSVII should prove a likable enough diversion until the next standard studio release
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  5. 7.0 |   All Music

    A journey that's filled with as much wonder as any of M83's full-fledged releases. It's a soothing and inspiring listen, especially for fans who love vintage sounds and period details as much as Gonzalez does
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  6. 7.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Simplicity, control and freedom is what the M83 founder wants in his music career right now and this latest creation no doubt does us listeners to the simpler and care-free times in our childhoods
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  7. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    M83's follow-up to 2007's ambient collection Digital Shades Vol. 1 lacks the ingenuity of his pioneering predecessors' output and the thrill-ride wonder of the genres he set out to salute
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  8. 6.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    M83 fail to transcend nostalgia on middling new LP
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  9. 6.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Too restless to convincingly evoke the starry-eyed longing of the band’s best work
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  10. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The album embraces nostalgia, even if it sometimes feels like that’s all it does
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  11. 5.5 |   The 405

    M83 can’t escape the trappings of nostalgia with its whimsical but dated DSVII
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