Review | Kavinsky – Reborn

Label: Fiction/Virgin Music France

Kavinsky (or Vincent Belorgey to his friends) has been gone for nine years but ‘Reborn’ is his aptly titled return to glory. Getting his start with a computer given to him by Mr Oizo, supporting Daft Punk on their ‘Alive’ tour and collaborating with Justice’s Gaspard Augé on ‘Reborn’, Kavinsky has firmly etched his name in the French electronic scene.

Tracks such as ‘Pulsar’ and ‘Trigger’ both could have been plucked from a soundtrack to a futuristic 80’s movie. While ‘Pulsar’ takes a slow burn approach with swelling synths over simplistic electric drums, ‘Trigger’ takes a slightly more aggressive approach with the kick drum popping and the synth stabbing in and out.

While these shine, tracks such as ‘Reborn’, ‘Cameo’ and ‘Plasma’ take the album up another level with the vocal features adding another layer to each track with each, it’s own individual synth pop gem. Another name in French music, Sebastian Telliér, pops up for the almost Phil Collins-like ballad ‘Goodbye’ lending his breathy vocals to the simplistic track of synth swells and drum clicks that could be found in any given classic 80’s ballad.

‘Renegade’ airs more on the funk side and shows another string to Kavinsky’s bow. Vocalist Cautious Clay, powerful voice seems to understand the assignment and lifts ‘Renegade’ up to be a true head turner as his vocals fly over the pulsing, strutting electronica underneath.

The heart of ‘Reborn’ is rooted in the 80’s and it seems to be an age of music that Kavinsky knows inside and out with each synth, drum beat and sound feeling like the real deal rather than a throwback replica. ‘Reborn’ is a strong return to glory and an album that perfectly encapsulates why the French are the foreword in electronica.