Anthony Gonzalez has been particularly open around his state of mind whilst conceptualising M83’s tenth album. ‘I’m deeply disillusioned by the world we’re living in” he said “I wanted something less calculated, more spontaneous. More punk, in a way.”
Join the queue mate, but his use of the word punk is the most meaningful epithet for listeners when trying to process I Wrote You a Letter‘s contours. That’s not punk as in leather trousers and mohawks, but as in a philosophical refusal to meet expectations, a safe space for ideas that don’t necessarily have a purpose or specific audience in mind. Once the record is heard, his comments make a lot more sense.
You’re probably wondering what the hell all this preamble means – and after I Wrote You a Letter is done, you’ll likely be not much wiser. Opening track and lead off single Blister Sunrise is indeed a perfect dose of spacy shoegaze, but from there things shift towards the cinematic (Soldiers of Lust) and onwards into the less structured and wilfully experimental (Aged, Siren Behold..Beasts). Lovers of the artist who gave us Hurry Up…We’re Dreaming might find solace in Heart Motion Foto, but largely this is an album on which Gonzalez pleases himself – and there’s nothing more punk than that.
You can read a full review here.
