The more you listen to Saturdays = Youth the more it sinks its hooks into you. As with all of Anthony Gonzalez' albums, it's richly cinematic in sound. And this one definitely lives up to its title with songs that range from 90s-era shoegaze jams like "Dark Moves of Love" and "Highway of Endless Dreams" to tunes like "Kim & Jessie," which sound like a B-side to a John Hughes film.
Saturdays = Youth features more female vocals than his previous efforts and they definitely sound like they took a nod from Kate Bush and Liz Fraser. Once again, he interjects random spoken female monologue bits that sound a tad too high-school goth for my taste, but if we are going back to 90s-era youth then some overdramatic monologues fit for a midnight wine tasting at the local cemetery while listening to The Cure make perfect sense.
Overall, Gonzalez seems to be a master of consistency. He hasn't strayed from his updated shoegaze sound, building layers of reverb and electronic instrumentation to crescendo and darkly emotive songwriting. The addition of more structured hooks as well as piano placed more prominently in the mix fits perfectly and adds to the warm feel of the album. Half the album makes for great make-out music and the rest is great for pulling out those scrunch socks and side ponytails while dancing in your room underneath the New Order poster.
Saturdays = Youth is out April 14, 2008, on Mute.
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U.S. TOUR DATES
Tue 5/20 Los Angeles Echoplex
Wed 5/21 San Francisco Great American Music Hall
Fri 5/23 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Sat 5/24 Vancouver Richards on Richards
Sun 5/25 Seattle Neumos
Wed 5/28 Minneapolis Triple Rock Club
Thu 5/29 Chicago Empty Bottle
Fri 5/30 Toronto The Mod Club
Sat 5/31 Montreal Cabaret Music Hall
Mon 6/2 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs
Tue 6/3 Brooklyn Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed 6/4 NYC Bowery Ballroom
Fri 6/6 Philadelphia First Unitarian Church
Sat 6/7 Washington, DC Black Cat
“Graveyard Girl” – Video
