- Of all the pilgrims who pay homage to the glittering era that was the '80s, few do it with the genuine fervour of Vincent Belorgey, whose alter-ego Kavinsky is so much a part of the 80s that he is actually a human soul that became, in a horrific car accident, fused to a Ferrari Testerossa (yeeeaaahhh!). So much is explained, in a completely badass monologue to the opening to Kavinsky's full-length debut, Outrun.
Many have been awaiting the album with a degree of excitement, based on the evidence of several of its tracks which have been doing the rounds for the last few years. Most notable of these is Nightcall, which featured in that Ryan Gossling pic Drive as well as a guest vocal from CSS's lead strumpet Lovefoxxx, production from Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo and mixing by SebastiAn whose work actually sneaks in across a lot of the album.
Those names will give you most of the inroads you'll need into Kavinsky's throwback electro-house sound: the punchiness of SebastiAn, the perfectly nuanced cheesiness of Daft Punk and, well, the presence of famous guest-folks this record probably doesn't need. I wasn't that into Lovefoxxx's contribution to Nightcall and similarly US rapper Havoc's high profile addition to the track Odd Look feels anachronistic and a bit phoned in, even if it does have a chorus about fast cars.
I don't mean to take away from Kavinsky's achievement here, I actually want to highlight it. The first proper single for Outrun is the unbelievably hook-laden Protovision which doesn't feature a guest spot and absolutely doesn't need one. The best moments on Outrun all belong to Kavinsky and I think anyone trying to add to it should really make the same commitment to travelling back in time as he does, which is to say about as much as Kyle Reese, and if you don't know who I'm talking about, YOU'RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH! Oh, you should see the video for Protovision too, it looks like The Terminator if it had a Ferrari in it and it is great.
This is music made with an obsessive knowledge of and reverence for 80s synth soundtracks and electro-house. That weight of commitment has created something special.

- Chris Cobcroft.