“We think about it in terms of all the space junk orbiting the planet,” said M83’s Justin Meldal-Johnsen as he explained the band’s decision to call their next album Junk in a recent interview with Pitchfork. An obscure statement at the time, that imagery makes a lot more sense when you hear their new song “Solitude.” Full of swelling strings and synths, the six-minute track will make you feel like you’re floating through space.
Of course, the non-traditional single choice also reflects the groups unwillingness to play by the rules and release neatly packaged accessible singles for their fans. “Nowadays everything goes so fast and everybody is kind of throwing away art in a certain manner,” frontman Anthony Gonzalez said in a press release. “People will listen to an album for instance and just pick a track they like to put on a playlist. They’re not going to take the time to listen to an album anymore because they have to jump on the next thing.”
“Anything we create today is going to end up being space junk at one point anyway, and I find it really fascinating and scary at the same time – beautiful too in a way,” Gonzalez adds. “I have this image of pieces of humanity floating in space, lost forever.”
While you wait for their first full album in almost five years (set to release on April 8) stream “Solitude” above and watch a dog sing their previous single “Do It, Try It” as he flies through space below.
