It's called Home, and serves as the closer for the standard version of the album (the deluxe features extra tracks after this). Hugo has set the bar very high for himself with previous singles You're On and Pay No Mind. Is he able to deliver the same quality with this latest effort?
Well, duh.
Hugo is incredibly thoughtful and open about his approach to making music, and I always enjoy reading new interviews with him that give us insight into his production process. Home is the result of a production marathon. Roughly once a year, the young French producer locks himself away for a full 24 hours, forcing himself to write and produce new songs from scratch. This sounds like a brutal way to get things done, but, in Hugo's own words, it "...put [him] in this weird vulnerable state," where he considered giving up music altogether. And thus, Home was born.
Home is superbly bombastic, but laden with meaning at the same time. It's utterly euphoric, but moments of delicate vulnerability are clear to see. It's blindingly obvious how much this song means to Hugo. The self-imposed time limit means that Home is perhaps not quite as intricate and tightly produced as you might expect, and the Madeon of old certainly wouldn't let that fly, but this also reflects a much more human, emotive version of the French producer we know and love. Any small flaws to be found simply add to the sense of raw feeling that Home simply exudes. It's the most personal Hugo has ever been with us - previously, you almost got the sense that he hid behind the flashy synths and insane production skills in order to keep some sort of distance from his work, but here, he and the song are one.
This extends to his vocals on the track, too. Hugo says: "I don't see myself as a singer but I thought it would be weird to have anyone else do the song so I kept it the same as the demo on the album." It's true - he's not a singer. And his vocals are therefore never going to be as polished as those from people who sing for a living, like on his previous two singles. But keeping his own vocals in Home was absolutely, 100% the right decision. It gives the track a much deeper meaning, and it's all the better for it.
Of course, I could talk about all of the usual stuff like chords, and synths, and production, but Home just really isn't about that. It's about Hugo's journey to rediscover why he does what he does, and in that sense, Home is a resounding success.
However, I do slightly question the decision to release this in advance of the album. I fear that the impact of Home might now be diminished slightly in the context of Adventure as a whole, now that we've already heard it. It's undoubtedly the perfect album closer, but I personally feel it would've been better to hold this one back.
That aside, Home may not be as instantly catchy or as tightly produced as You're On or Pay No Mind (which, as an aside, is still my absolute favourite track of the year so far), but it marks a foray into unfamiliar territory for Madeon, and it absolutely pays off.
The Octopus' Rating: 7/8
Release Details:
Name: Home
Artist: Madeon
Label: Sony Music Entertainment UK
Release Date: 10 March [OUT NOW]
Purchase: Preorder Adventure to receive Home as an instant download
Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.
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