Since emerging in the late 1990s, French combo Tahiti 80 has been gamely exploring different subgenres ranging from breezy, low-key indie pop and synth-based sophisti-pop to guitar-heavy indie rock. There are hints of Tropicalia and '60s sunshine pop in their sound, too. They offered up a set of unplugged renditions on 2019's Fear of an Acoustic Planet. Released in early 2022, Here with You is almost the opposite of its predecessor. Like most bands attempting to make a record in early 2020, Tahiti 80 were forced to change their approach when the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person gatherings almost impossible. Pivoting to the virtual approach, the band members rehearsed and recorded their parts remotely under the traffic direction of producer Julien Vignon. Given its genesis during a period of dire global tumult, Here with You is impossibly upbeat, both rhythmically and emotionally, with the glossy sheen of a mainstream dance-pop record. There are some hits (the sweet and quirky "Zoo" and the stripped-down "Riddles & Rhymes") and misses (the rather insipid "Wicked Wicked"), and one perplexing number ("Vintage Creem") that plays like an overwrought, yet surprisingly likable boy band amalgam. The rest of the record floats by in a haze of tepid, amiable pop that fails to make much of an impression. Tahiti 80 should get some credit for keeping things light and carefree during dark times, but Here with You is something of an awkward mish-mash within their greater catalog.