Kavinsky - Outrun ALBUM REVIEW

Sorry for being a bit late on this one (if you consider a whole week 'a bit late'). I've already covered Kavinsky's first single from his new album, "Protovision", and I really liked it. It was significantly Kavinsky, yet you can tell that SebastiAn co-produced it. The song displays the darker side of Kavinsky, and while it's certainly his style, it was a different mood altogether than 2006's "Teddy Boy EP". The French house producer, real name Vincent Belorgey, knows this, which is why he's included a few songs from 2006-2008 on his debut album. Does he succeed at blurring the line between old and new, just like his music blurs the line between the 80s and the future?

Well, for the most part, yes. If you haven't heard of Kavinsky (you should), he's the ringleader of a recent movement in electro house that combines retro 80s sounds with new technology and futuristic ideas. It's the kind of music to drive a Testarossa and fight space invaders to. Despite the number of exellent producers who have taken cues from Kavinsky (Grum, Danger, Anoraak, The M Machine), Belorgey still hold his own. Outrun is close to being a conceptual album, as it has a story based around it - a teenage boy in 1986 is hit by a Ferrari Testarossa in a car crash. The boy recovers as a zombie, the car fused inside of him, making his eyes glow red. The booklet included in my CD includes pictures of this story, implying that there will be some sort of short film based on the album. This is fitting, because it's clear Kavinsky made this album with movie soundtracks in mind.

Much like a movie, the album opens with some exposition. In "Prelude", the voice of Paul Hahn introduces the story in an audiobook fashion, followed up by some extremely dramatic synths. "Blizzard" throws some rock into the mix, but it isn't the only time guitars are used. "First Blood" is by far the best previously unheard song on the album, benefitting from Tyson's enormous vocals, and equal distribution of guitars and synths. It's the kind of catchy track you would hear on the credits of an action movie, a theme that continues with the highway car-chase epic "Roadgame". The moody "Odd Look" brings to mind Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy soundtrack, and that's a good thing. Some tracks don't fare as well. The rapping from Tyson of Mobb Deep on "Suburbia" is just uninspired, and it's chorus is almost cringe-worthy. The tracks we've already heard still hold up, especially the hit song "Nightcall", but the reason weaker material like "Grand Canyon" and "Dead Cruiser" were chosen over, say, "Pacific Coast Highway" or "Wayfarer", is unclear.

Fans of Kavinsky have been waiting a while for an album, but if you're expecting this album to show the softer side of Kavinsky, you'll be disappointed. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable album that newcomers to Kavinsky will enjoy. This album is thick on that 80s rock meets electro style of music that Vincent Belorgey does so well, but it never gets cheesy or over-dramatic. Yes, it has a few misses, and the mastering is not always clean (seriously, what happened on "Protovision"?).  The album is still good, and like I said, it's best suited for listening during a drive around a city at night, because it just feels right.

Favorite tracks: "First Blood", "Nightcall", "Roadgame", "Testarossa Autodrive"
Least favorite track: "Suburbia"

My score: 7 out of 10.