Junk

M83 - Junk
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2016 Ratings: #896 / 988
User Score
Based on 423 ratings
2016 Ratings: #608
Liked by 7 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
A.V. Club

It’s easily M83’s most challenging, best album to date.

85
Under The Radar

With Junk, Anthony Gonzalez challenges the expectations of the devotees of past M83 projects, guiding them to embellished fabrications of the follies of pop's past. After some period of acclimation, they might find the surfaces and textures of satin, glitter, and pink bubbles to be quite accommodating.

83
Pretty Much Amazing
Strangely enough, the album ends up pretty darn good in spite of its hackneyed self-awareness.
80
NOW Magazine
He masterfully weaves myriad sounds and structures - mainly late 70s- and early 80s-influenced - into a remarkably strong, cohesive unit.
80
AllMusic
While all listeners may not share his fascination with '80s pop culture detritus, it's hard not to respect how expertly he transforms it into something genuine.
70
The Line of Best Fit

Once Gonzalez has had his fun and begins to settle in to the ways of the old M83, but with a bit of a pop sheen to it, is when Junk works best. It’s just a shame you have to flick through the channels to find the gold.

70
musicOMH

It is in Anthony Gonzalez’ veins to make pop music where the listener will swoon, dream and ultimately smile. Despite the mournful lag in the middle of JUNK, that is what he does once again here – in his own inimitable way.

70
FasterLouder

Junk is disposable pop music, and it really doesn’t aspire to be much more than that.

70
Exclaim!

With Junk, Gonzalez has taken M83 into a whole new galaxy that is just as ambitious and starry-eyed as everything that came before it.

68
Pitchfork

This kind of pure homage to slick '70s and'’80s FM ephemera is so exacting in places, it almost makes you wonder: What is the point of remaking this into something new?

65
Under The Radar

It's an admirable effort to not simply repeat a successful album, but Junk is more often pastiche than absorption or reconfiguration of '80s nostalgia.

65
The 405

Junk, unfortunately, lives up to the reason Gonzalez gave it its name; two songs that are highlights while the rest can be trashed, although it's not all that bad. It's a superficial thrill ride but without those evocative moments, that captivating emotional core, it lacks staying power.

62
Northern Transmissions

Junk sounds dated and not in a good way. It’s the songs that don’t go into total throwback mode that appeal the most.

60
The Guardian
It’s fantasy stuff – evocative rather than perceptive, and awfully cheesy. But it’s also incredibly refined.
60
Spin
They say good artists borrow and great artists steal, but here Gonzalez does neither — his heart doesn’t seem to be in the heist anymore.
60
Slant Magazine

On a base, per-song level, Junk is a sturdy little workhorse of an album.

56
Sputnikmusic

Junk only seems to exacerbate the recycling of pop tropes that Gonzalez rails against, an emulation rather than a celebration. In this context, Junk is a deeply cynical record.

50
Consequence of Sound
It is possible to commodify nostalgia, but unless you have something unique to say about it, it’s no better than the Fry Kids and gummy cheeseburger on the cover: wacky and colorful, but also filled with empty calories.
50
PopMatters

Junk seemingly represents the band’s version of Metal Machine Music and Trans, the leap into Brechtian theatrics sounds and feels ironic. Except, it is not.

40
Rolling Stone

As its title implies, Junk leans too heavily on the quirks from the past, rife with the least flattering odds and ends of a time long gone. If this record is supposed to evoke the hot shame of retroactive embarrassment – akin to gazing at your pizza-faced high school glamour shots – it passes with flying colors.

40
DIY

‘Junk’ is a goofy supply of cheesy saxophone solos, equally silly synth lines and the Sad Robot aesthetic defining Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’.

40
Drowned in Sound
It is indeed a statement, though a cheap and hollow one, worthy of its title. Frankly, you expect better.
30
The Needle Drop
M83 returns with an album with more hollow nostalgia than quality tunes.
TehSniper_143
75

I remember really liking "Junk" a long time ago. I thought it was a great fun experience that had some of M83s strongest material post-HUWD. However, after revisiting this album all these years later... it kinda shrunk a little bit. I don't think it's as bad as some people say it is, it is still leagues better than shit like "self-titled" or "DSV1", it's still not as great as I remember it being. Some tracks are great, like "Do It, Try It" or ... read more

cookie
40

LOL? late april fools'

MAN
47

Not as bad as I expected it to be.

RyanDWessel
30

Yeah this album is Junk.

NateAnimates
79

Junk truly isn't as bad as people say it is, a lot of the tracks are really strong and definitely unpack some of Gonzalez' greatest works. Very underrated listen.

Blizzmusic
55

EH.

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Track List

1Do It, Try It
3:37
90
2Go!
3:55
feat. Mai Lan
89
3Walkway Blues
4:49
feat. J. Laser
81
4Bibi the Dog
3:53
feat. Mai Lan
67
5Moon Crystal
2:26
60
6For the Kids
4:40
80
7Solitude
6:03
93
8The Wizard
2:24
76
9Laser Gun
4:17
feat. Mai Lan
68
10Road Blaster
4:21
70
11Tension
2:05
59
12Atlantique Sud
3:24
feat. Mai Lan
66
13Time Wind
4:09
feat. Beck
70
14Ludivine
1:35
65
15Sunday Night 1987
4:00
75
Total Length: 55 minutes
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Added on: March 1, 2016