DJ Mehdi doesn't need to act cool or pretend to be outrageous: His résumé speaks for itself. A relative unknown in non-France, Mehdi is a veteran of the Parisian music scene, having produced one of the most controversial singles in French music history (Ideal J's "Hardcore" was banned from radio and television in 1998 for its riotous politics), made beats for MC Solaar, Franco-fied a Ryuichi Sakamoto soundtrack, and collaborated with Etienne De Crécy, Cassius, and Daft Punk. It was through his work with Daft Punk that Mehdi met their manager, Pedro Winter, who now heads the ultra-hip Ed Banger Records, a label hyped-to-life via its scumbag electro posterboys, Justice, and fishy gangster rap teen queen, Uffie. So, as the first full-length release from Ed Banger, Lucky Boy serves a dual purpose: It instantly stabilizes a catalog built on shaky trends, and it provides the ideal get-up complement to the rest of the label's all-out party artists. Incidentally, it's pretty good on its own, as well.
Mehdi calls this his "future breakdance album", and while that may be apt, nobody breakdances anymore. In reality, Lucky Boy is a "getting ready" album, if there ever was one. It's just long enough to get yourself clean and dressed, have a drink, and bust a preliminary move or two, but it never really breaks into a full dance album. Perfect evidence of this is "I Am Somebody" featuring Quebecois funk dudes Chromeo. Its wobbly bassline and major-key synth rushes are the sonic equivalent of waiting at the velvet rope, and Dave 1's lyrics capture the exact moment when being refused from an old spot spurs the creation of a new spot, repeating the titular phrase as if he's rallying the rejects. It is, at once, the pinnacle of Chromeo's existence and the highest point of the album. "Always Be an Angel", with its dizzying twirl of piano keys, horn stabs, and choir from the Fifth Dimension is almost as high, and the romping steel-guitar stunner, "Lucky Boy" featuring the breathy Fafi, has the good time trip-hop never could. But again, even the most manic moments feel like a preparation for something yet to be determined. Lucky Boy makes some calls and drives us around Paris looking for the ultimate party, never to find it, and that is both the album's strength and weakness.
Judged against similar hip-hop-influenced instrumentalists like Rjd2 or Eliot Lipp, DJ Mehdi is superior. His ideas are better developed, and he understands that the term "cinematic" can mean more than moody set design. Maybe this is because he actually composed the score for Romain Gavras' Megalopolis; maybe he's just a better songwriter. Regardless, the album tells a good story, even if it seems to stop after the first act. But that's also where it falters. Lucky Boy is not a fully realized narrative, and, after multiple listens, you may find that it's neither compelling enough as a collection of great songs or as a full album experience. If this happens, Mehdi should still find a place in your "background music" collection because the quality and complexity of his production will keep you interested but not distracted. His pre-club electro beats and glossy synth-funk are ideal for that sort of non-dancing dancing that you do while you're doing something else, which may be the intent since Mehdi's website shows him lounging around just the kind of airy Paris loft that you might wish you were in when you listen to this album.
