Undoubtedly for French electronic artist Vincent Belorgey (who creates music under the alias Kavinsky), the release of his album Outrun could not have come at a better time. His song ‘Nightcall’ featured on one of 2011’s most praised films, Drive, and since then has achieved a sort of cult status, while Belorgey has been cultivating Kavinsky’s reputation as a cartoon zombie racing car hero. His image being splashed across EP and single covers, adding to the mystery and metropolitan heroism of the character and his music.
The premise of the album is one which tells the story of this character Kavinsky, a man in the mid-’80s with a broken heart who inexplicably turns into some sort of zombie. The fact that the album is built on this story, however, soon starts to feel like an irrelevant idiosyncrasy as you listen further into the record. Lyrics are few and far between, and there is little development in terms of musical style. This is not to say that the album is not enjoyable, however. The atmosphere of a 1980s action film, which Kavinsky creates with strong synthesiser sounds and slightly silly narrators, makes it an interesting listen. The gem of the album is ‘Nightcall’, the song which arguably got Kavinsky where he is at the moment. With help from Brazilian singer Lovefoxxx (from CSS), ‘Nightcall’ is a genuinely moving piece of music, laced with dream-like sound effects and a spooky synthesised voice. Lovefoxxx’s vocals bring in some much-needed softness to the whole affair, and it works brilliantly.
It is easy to see why Kavinsky is perfect for movie soundtracks, as proved by his forays into the film world, which have been greeted with much acclaim. However, as a full-length album, ‘Outrun’s’ aims are perhaps a little misplaced. The whole thing certainly sounds like a film soundtrack, and one of the excellent things about this is the association and memory of the films they are attached to. As a listener of ‘Outrun’, you can often feel that something is missing because of this.
LOUISA HANN