People are saying M.A.U.’s track “Cheetah” sounds like M83. As someone who just uploaded the entire M83 discography onto her computer last night, I can say that this is not an apt comparison. While the sweeping synths may resemble mid-career M83, there’s more here.

If anything this feels a little more self-consciously retro than M83 ever does (mostly because M83 is too elegantly mixed). The narrative resemblance is there though, I suppose. Chillwave is a big influence here, though you can hear it less in the beat and more in the finishing, which is a nice touch because it seems like we are getting so many formulaic chillwave beats these days. This effect is re-enforced by the vocals, distorted and echoing, which would nestle comfortably on some forgotten VHS track.

But where “Cheetah” builds momentum, it drops us off at a precipice, leaving us wanting more, but remembering what we could fall into.

Happy Friday.