New album reviews: M83 sounds emotionally hollow, Lukas Graham gets soulful

M83, "Junk" (Mute)

With his army of vintage keyboards and synthesizers, M83's Anthony Gonzalez has made a career of warm, textured nostalgia. His 2011 breakthrough, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming," was a double album about his boyhood in the south of France. Strings and brass swept its wistful melodies to baroque heights.

In contrast, "Junk," M83's seventh studio album, sounds chintzy — a bubble-gum synth-pop album that indulges Gonzalez's love of decades-old TV soundtracks, hair-metal guitar solos and kitschy pop songs.

The album's first half lives in an alternative universe where Spandau Ballet and the theme music from "Punky Brewster" rule. There are the bounce of "Do It, Try It"; the "Miami Vice" tropes of "Walkway Blues" and the "Hill Street Blues" homage "Moon Crystal"; the syrupy ballad "For the Kids," and the "sexy sax" and guitar-solo cliches of "Go!"

About halfway through, "Solitude" arrives as a reminder of Gonzalez's strengths — a luminously orchestrated anthem strong enough to withstand even a keytar solo. "Laser Gun," with its dream-pop overtones juxtaposed with a rap vocal, and "Road Blaster," which pairs strutting horns with an understated vocal, merge the album's junk-pop sensibility with inventive arrangements.

But "Time Wind" wastes a cameo by Beck, who sounds anonymous. M83 has rarely made music that sounds emotionally hollow, but "Junk" provides an unfortunate exception.

Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

"Lukas Graham" (Warner Bros.)

Don't be fooled. Lukas Graham, the Danish singer (and band that also bears his name) behind the yearning ballad "7 Years," is not another supersensitive European singer-songwriter like Passenger or Hozier. He has way more swagger and even a sense of humor. His debut album includes not only sensitive piano-driven pop, but also a healthy helping of soul.

Although it's easy to see why Team Graham would want songs thematically similar to his smash "7 Years," including the "Hard Knock Life"-leaning "Mama Said," his skill is actually in translating his love of R&B into something poppier, as he does in "Drunk in the Morning" and the sleek soul of "Strip No More."

But it's the old-school "Don't You Worry 'Bout Me" where Graham seems most at ease and distinctive, as he wraps his voice around a ballad that could've come from Marvin Gaye.

"Lukas Graham" is smartly planned and well-crafted, but its real strength is when Graham lets go and sings from his soulful heart.

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