TAHITI 80

The Past, the Present & the Possible

tahiti80.com

The sixth Tahiti 80 album arrives via the band’s own Human Sounds imprint, cheekily named for the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. The French sextet is clearly acquainted with that touchstone of classic pop, but Brian Wilson’s masterwork isn’t the only influence on this music. Most of the tracks here combine ’80s synth-pop with modern R&B, satisfying both the “past” and “present” parts of the disc’s title; Tahiti 80 pulls off its genre fusions with ease. As for what’s “possible,” as the last and most ambitious part of the title promises, this album offers the suggestion of a calm, cool, collected world where we dance away our heartache, seldom losing our breath.