DSVII
by M83
  • Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Sep 20, 2019
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. musicOMH.com
    Sep 20, 2019
    80
    DSVII pulls off what it sets out to accomplish with aplomb: it is a pleasant album full of lush instrumentation and suites of sound that are gently evocative. If at times the record feels a little too safe, this feeling is punctured before long by an irresistibly cute melody or a chord sequence that resolves in just the right way, and the listener is drawn back into the pastel world that M83 create here.
  2. Pitchfork
    Sep 23, 2019
    74
    With DSVII, the series evolves into a space for tinkering, where Gonzalez can embrace different influences. With neither someone else’s vision nor any cohesive album statement to fulfill, he reverts to maximalism, melding his two musical identities—synth-pop showman, serious composer for other mediums—to become the director of his own electronic daydreams.
  3. AllMusic
    Sep 20, 2019
    70
    It's a soothing and inspiring listen, especially for fans who love vintage sounds and period details as much as Gonzalez does.
  5. Exclaim
    Sep 20, 2019
    70
    It's on these longer, wide-angle tracks that the album really shines, and fans who thought the stricter pop playbook Gonzalez has been using recently was perhaps too strict should find much to like in these more open-ended pieces. For the rest of us, DSVII should prove a likable enough diversion until the next standard studio release.
  6. Slant Magazine
    Sep 27, 2019
    60
    DSVII is an undeniably florid soundscape of ‘80s pop culture touchstones. But hearing Gonzalez flesh these castoffs out into full songs through the lens of video game music feels like little more than an amusing experiment.
  7. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 24, 2019
    60
    While these tracks aren’t necessarily bad by any definition, they certainly lack the charisma that M83 is known for.
  8. PopMatters
    Sep 20, 2019
    60
    What remains are a few fleeting moments of quiet beauty, and they do not appear often enough, nor are they substantial for an album of this length.
  9. The 405
    Sep 23, 2019
    55
    What made M83 so great was its inclination to look forward as well as backward. Unfortunately, DSVII —like Junk— looks backward without bringing anything new to the table.
  10. No Ripcord
    Oct 17, 2019
    50
    It’s an album without the excitement of the first Digital Shades without the correct tones and instruments to recall those pioneers, and in terms of quality, Junk is still a little better.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 27
  3. Negative: 4 out of 27
  1. Rammos
    Sep 28, 2019
    6
    Um álbum diferente de todos os outros trabalhos prévios, e não necessariamente no bom sentido. É um bom álbum de música ambiente, bom para seUm álbum diferente de todos os outros trabalhos prévios, e não necessariamente no bom sentido. É um bom álbum de música ambiente, bom para se ouvir e relaxar. Mas não passa disso para ser sincero. Não há algo realmente atrativo em nenhuma das faixas, e é um álbum que quando você terminar de ouvir vai se perguntar "mas já acabou?". No entanto, é agradável aos ouvidos e traz uma boa sensação de nostalgia devido ao conceito do álbum ser games antigos, o que faz o mesmo ganhar uns pontos.
    Seguimos esperando pela próxima grande gema do M83. Não foi dessa vez.    … Full Review »
  2. Jerem13
    Sep 27, 2019
    8
    C'est un album tres different des autres, mais cela reste un joli voyage a travers des sonorités epiques et contemplatives
  3. Gabrating
    Sep 20, 2019
    7
    Extremely different album from the previous ones in terms of style (although presenting certain sounds very similar to those glimpsed inExtremely different album from the previous ones in terms of style (although presenting certain sounds very similar to those glimpsed in "Junk", which was already quite different from the first 6 works of the artist), a total change of course that, if for certain verses can be positive as a symptom of renewal and innovation, on the other hand it can make the nose turn upside down, given the presence of tracks (most of them) that could transmit a strong sense of monotony and, in general, of unexpressed potential. And in fact, this album had initially a lot of potential, but unfortunately it seems that in the end it cannot be considered completely successful. Maybe it's something wanted, given the statements of the same Anthony regarding his intention to want to make something "simple" and "imperfect", like the old soundtracks of the 80s video games that inspired him, but, at the end of the listen, it seems as if more could be done, as if what we felt was not enough, as if something was missing, that spark that would have given the whole the same efficacy and genius that characterized the previous albums, real masterpieces of music. Despite this, however, some tracks are really evocative and transcendental ("Colonies", "Mirage") and certain pieces of piano, flute and guitar very beautiful and pleasant to hear, giving a sense of absolute peace, and in this sense recalling, in their own small way, the atmospheres of the first chapter.
    In conclusion, the album worth in my opinion the purchase, 'cause in general is very well done, although it cannot be considered, as far as I am concerned (it is good to specify it), on a par with its predecessors.    … Full Review »
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