Madeon - Adventure [Review]

Beauty isn't a concept that you would often associate with electronic dance music. You're far more likely to encounter the word 'generic' than the word 'beauty'. That's not without good reason - people have rightly levelled criticism at dance music over recent years for being the same old derivative rubbish, with far too many artists happy to jump on the nearest bandwagon that passes by. But the situation seems to be improving. And anyway, it's always been the case that, as long as you know where to look, and you're prepared to wade through the dreck, you can find fantastic innovation, astounding levels of technical ability, and just really bloody good music.

Step forward Hugo Leclrcq, who you may know better as Madeon. It's pretty indisputable that the young French producer ticks all three of those boxes. Through numerous singles and the odd EP, Hugo has already proven that he absolutely has what it takes to stand out from the crowd. With several massively popular and critically acclaimed tracks under his belt, he's earned the right to be included amongst the cream of the crop of talented producers, and it's for that reason that his debut album has been so greatly anticipated by so many. People were all but ready to hand Madeon the award for album of the year before even hearing Adventure, and so it's not hard to imagine that he felt the pressure to deliver.


But if Hugo was feeling the weight of expectation, it certainly doesn't show. Because far from crumbling beneath it, he has risen to the challenge and crafted an album that is, summed up in a single word, stunning.

C'mon, we all knew it would be good. But Adventure simply gets better with every single listen. Almost everything just works, from the carefully chosen collaborators, to the new focus on good songwriting rather than mere technical wizardry. From start to finish, it feels like so much care has been taken to ensure that every single thing is well placed and brilliantly executed. Madeon's perfectionism has been a hindrance in the past, significantly restricting the rate of his musical output, but that same trait is what elevates his music above that of his counterparts.

Hugo has done a lot of talking about how with Adventure, he made a conscious choice to evolve beyond simply demonstrating his wizardry with DAW plugins. In his own words, in an interview with Digital Spy back in February: "...Production is now a tool to express great songs and emotions as opposed to just the end of it." His work is all the better for it. Tracks aren't necessarily as polished, but feel far more sincere, with a greater sense of humanity about them. All the while, though, retaining the vibrancy that he made his name with.

Once you begin to absorb this new way of thinking, and go into Adventure to appreciate the emotive side of it rather than the synth work, it starts to become immediately obvious that 'beauty' and dance music can certainly coexist harmoniously.

There are so many great tracks on Adventure that it's difficult to know where to begin, though the start seems like a good place. Isometric serves as a spine-tingling intro, with magnificent, epic chords slowly crescendoing into the first big track on the album, the previously released You're On. It might well be one of the tracks you've heard the most, as it was released first, but here it still seems fresh, thanks in large part to Kyan's excellent vocal turn making the most of Hugo and co-writer Jimmy Napes' songwriting prowess.

This leads seamlessly into OK, which delivers character in droves with its retro synths and cleverly spliced vocals. It's the perfect track for a summer's day, and creates a feeling of goodwill that you'll take into the rest of the album.

Then comes the first of the album's unheard collaborations, La Lune, which features vocals from Dan Smith of Bastille. This was an absolutely inspired choice, with his unique style and tone perfectly meshing with the ethos that Madeon is creating here. The melismatic chorus melody is just beautiful, and La Lune is the first track to really demonstrate how much Hugo's work benefits from a slightly more restrained approach. There's a new sense of breathing space that serves to create a magnificently chilled atmosphere. It's still euphoric, anthemic, but in a completely different way.

From here, we arrive at Pay No Mind. When I reviewed this track individually as a single a few months ago, I gave it a perfect score. I absolutely, 100% stand behind that decision. To me, this is the greatest track that Madeon has ever created. It further displays his ability to pick just the right collaborator, with Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit fame providing the perfect vocals. I wrote about this track at length in that previous review so I won't say too much more here, but if you have to listen to one track from Adventure, it should be this one, no question.

Madeon is frequently compared to Porter Robinson, another producer who's been lauded for putting substance over style. Nowhere is that comparison more apt than with Beings, the album's next track. With it's dropouts and cutesy vocal samples, you'd have a hard time disbelieving someone if they told you it had actually come from Porter's Worlds.

Another seamless transition takes us into the previously released Imperium, which provides a welcome change in pace and style midway through Adventure. It thumps along at an almighty pace, and is much different to every other track on the album, yet it never feels out of place.

Zephyr takes this new injection of energy and runs with it, and is one of Adventure's other standout moments. The melody is sublime and instantly hooks you. Zephyr is probably the track that feels most like pre-Adventure Madeon, and yet is still more refined and thoughtful, with more excellent vocals and great production.

The next of the album's big-hitter collaborators comes in the form of Mark Foster of Foster The People, who provides his talents for Nonsense. This is one of the best-written songs on the album, and really hits the mark lyrically. It also benefits from a restrained middle section, before an explosion of sound takes us to the finish line.

As we near the album's end, proceedings become even more restrained. Innocence, perhaps more than any other track, gives weight to the concept of beauty that I earlier attached to Adventure. It represents new territory for Hugo, as he strays into the realms of future bass. Upcoming talent Aquilo are the collaborators this time, with their smooth vocals proving the perfect fit for this laid-back track. Innocence adds a further dimension to Adventure. This is welcome, as the one criticism that I would make about the album as a whole is that it is slightly formulaic - most of the songs follow the same basic premise and style. The thing is, the formula is so good that even this isn't really a bad thing. Nevertheless, a few moments of change don't go amiss, which are thankfully provided by both this track and Imperium.

Pixel Perfect is perhaps one of the least memorable tracks on Adventure, but even that isn't saying much. It's still a solid effort, with an interesting half-time section midway through, but it feels like a slightly unnecessary diversion towards the last track, Home.

I raised concerns about Hugo's decision to release Adventure's swan song ahead of time. I worried that Home would lack the impact that it deserved to make through being released early and out of context. Happily, I was wrong. Whilst I believe it would've had a greater impact had we not heard it in advance, Home is still the perfect ending to an astounding album. Hugo's decision to keep his own vocals on the final track was a brave one - after all, he's not known for his vocal talents - but one that was absolutely right. It's raw, it's emotional, and the track's slightly rough edges lend it the humanity and depth of emotion that he hoped to achieve. It's euphoric, yet tinged with sadness - a sadness that we've now reached the end.

It's easy as a reviewer to throw around superlatives like they're going out of fashion. It makes for sensationalist reading, and is a well-known tactic for drawing readers in. However, I absolutely stand by every single one used throughout the course of this review, because Adventure deserves them all. It's a triumph in adding depth back into dance music, whilst still appealing to an extremely broad audience. Hugo should be mighty proud of his progress to this point - his technical ability was never in any doubt, but his new awareness of the importance of creating tracks that resonate on an emotional level elevates his work to new heights.

Beauty isn't a concept that you would often associate with electronic dance music. But in the case of Adventure, let's make an exception.

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Alex Simpson

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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