Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

From the word "go," Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, the latest release from M83, bursts in with a triumphant anthem. The song is dense with modulating synths and M83's classic soft spoken word intro. The song is the overture to the massive work that is Hurry Up, a 22 song concept album. While it is the first M83 album that I have listened to in full, I feel that so much can be learned about the band from this latest release.
M83 is a musical group based around french musician Anthony Gonzalez, who plays almost every instrument on the record. M83 is and always has been defined by their thick and thoughtful music but Hurry Up turns to a more pop sensibility. It retains the well known M83 noise in some interstitial tracks but the big hits on the album come from the, as i once heard it put, unapologetic 80s sensibilities within the tracks. This vintage nostalgia comes mostly from the drums and bass which at times transport the listener back to the times of Duran Duran and Aha.
To zoom in for a moment, I'd like to discuss my personal favorite track off of the record. The song "Steve McQueen" starts off with a distorted vocal melody behind some classic 80s drum machine. The song descends into a synth arpeggio buildup with so much tension behind it that by the time that the drums fill and go into the unabashed anthem singalong, you can barely stop yourself from getting up and dancing about like a crazy person. The verses are short and not very prominent but they do provide time to take a breath before the next chorus. Every time I listen to this song it gets better and better, a feeling I have about the album as a whole.

Stand-Out Tracks:
Steve McQueen
Intro
Midnight City
Reunion