Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

M83 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 18, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Mute
• ASIN: B005HS00NW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,172 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Pop > Euro Pop > French Pop
  • #6 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > France
  • #62 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Indie Rock

Editorial Reviews

2011 two CD release from the Electronic/Dream Pop band led by French singer/songwriter Anthony Gonzalez. Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, NIN, The Mars Volta, Goldfrapp) and including contributions from Brad Laner (from 90's band Medicine) on guitar, Saturdays=Youth vocalist Morgan Kibby, and guest vocalist Zola Jesus, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is a double-album journey that takes us to the horizon and introduces us to new landscapes. About awakening, craving, and conquering, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming pushes into new vocal territory for M83. Here we see Gonzalez test out different ways of singing, ranging from a spectral breathy whisper to a howling scream.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 215 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ok..... January 13, 2012

By Paulie

Format:Audio CD

..at 62 (Dear God..)I have been combing through todays' music like so much rubbish trying to find something...anything...that would take me where I would like to go.

Namely, out of myself, but, at the same time, within myself.

Here it is.

I found it.

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No-wake zone October 18, 2011

By K. D. Kelly

Format:Audio CD

If, as the title states, we are entering dreamland on M83's sixth studio release, then our fantasy is taking place in the big-haired, neon-bedazzled world of the 1980s. And why not? Back then, the American Dream still came equipped with houses.

It's not that this band, formed by French musician Anthony Gonzalez in 2001, has pitched a tent in the '80s-revivalist camp. It's as if this music is being unearthed from the 1980s, and somehow repackaged and taken in new directions with the help of today's technology.

The style employed on "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" feels like the front end of a burgeoning trend. Gonzalez has a keen sense for melody, which paired with his entrenched connection to ambient and techno sounds, creates something akin to hip-hop; a cut-and-paste form of new wave. "Dreaming," like M83's previous outings, is mostly a synth affair, but the band for the first time employs saxophone, acoustic guitar, flutes and strings to give the album a fuller flavor than, say, 2008's extroverted "Saturdays=Youth."

If all 22 songs were as dense as "Intro," the opening track, the album would be an exhausting experience. The song, featuring the operatic Zola Jesus, is a thick, moody slab of electronic pop with enough dark and light shades to make Brian Eno blush. Luckily, "Dreaming" offers a wide spectrum of hues, right down to the song's antipode, "Raconte-moi Histoire," a light, airy tale about a magic frog in a land where "everything looks like a giant cupcake," as told by a kindergartner.

On the dance-floor cool-down number, "OK Pal," M83 has no peer. It's grand pop like Peter Gabriel's early untitled records -- helped by the fact that Gonzalez's voice is reminiscent of Gabriel, powerful yet ethereal.... The song is full-on electronic, with hints of Herbie Hancock, Steve Winwood and Tears for Fears at play. "Steve McQueen" offers a tantalizing, opposites-attract marriage of electronic fuzz with soaring melodies and lilting voices -- part a-ha, part Jesus and Mary Chain, part "Kokomo"-era Beach Boys. There's also the Kraftwerkian "Klaus I Love You," flamboyant space rock a la Muse on "My Tears Are Becoming a Sea," and the sweeping, organ-slathered "Splendor," offering shades of Toto.

But nothing tops the instantly infectious "Midnight City," the album's first single. Big synth drums, bigger synth voices and Gonzalez singing over top in a voice that's cold, but strangely affecting (think Gary Numan on "Cars"). It even ends with an obligatory '80s saxophone outro that seals the deal.

There's no mistaking that "Dreaming" has epic aspirations -- it is a double album, after all -- but it's heights are easily climbed because Gonzalez always remembers to bring the hooks. Throughout, M83 changes the tempo and shifts the mood often enough to keep the proceedings interesting, and at times jaw-dropping. And it's such a tightly woven production that some songs when played separately seem to begin -- or end -- abruptly. Read more ›

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Bold, epic outing October 20, 2011

By cagey

Format:Audio CD

I was really looking forward to M83's latest album after hearing "Midnight City", their excellent first single a few months ago. _Hurry Up, We're Dreaming_ is a well produced, audacious double album more or less continuing on from where _Saturdays=Youth_ left off. It's a pretty decent album overall, but I can't help feeling that Anthony G skimped a bit here and there when it comes to the melodies. You'll find a bunch of electro-pop tracks reminiscent of numerous 80's hits ("slappin' the bass, mon!") like Level 42 or Propaganda, a lot of instrumental interludes and keyboard driven melodies. This album sounds drenched in keyboards, and that's not always a bad thing. The saxophone can be heard embellishing a couple of songs. And there are a couple of tracks that feature acoustic guitar as well.

I really like most of the traditional, structured songs more than the instrumental interludes. "Reunion" starts off with some glorious chords and drums that sound like emphatic punctuation marks and remind me of the British band Prefab Sprout circa their _Jordan: the Comeback_ (1990) days. The drums crashing forth from the opening of "New Map" will take you back to "Don't Save Us from the Flames" from M83's 2005 release _Before the Dawn Heals Us_. "OK Pal" is a pretty catchy Howard Jones-ish number. But for me the highlight of the album, besides "Midnight City" is "Steve McQueen", a song with a soaring, fists-in-the-air chorus, dense guitars and pretty, swirling keyboards and lyrics that could be about what? The celebration of life, perhaps, self-forgiveness?, rejuvenation? It doesn't really matter. This song is REALLY GOOD.

"Fountains" and "Klaus I Love You" are a couple of the shorter, (mostly) instrumental pieces that work.... In fact, I would have liked to hear how "KILY" would have sounded if it was more fleshed out. But most of the shorter songs don't have the melodies to make them memorable.

The album does seem to move along pretty quickly and considering its hour plus long running time, that's saying something. Perhaps some of the shorter tracks will grow on me as I keep listening. But the tracks worth hearing, the ones I keep going back to, are "Midnight City", "Reunion", and "Steve McQueen".

*** 1/2 stars Read more ›

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 80's done right October 18, 2011

By C. P. Bell

Format:Audio CD

A lot of artists tried to do the 80's theme this year, including Beyonce (4) and Lady Gaga (Born This Way), but none came as close to capturing retro electronic synth-pop quite like M83's "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". If someone told me this album was from 1986 I would've believed them; right down to the airy, soaring male vocals. I'm not even sure if M83's desire was to replicate the 80's, but they could have fooled me! I've never been a huge fan of electronica/techno, usually due to its obnoxious overwrought nature (derivative, loud, etc), but M83 has changed all of that for me. This band pays respectful homage to nu-wave, the likes of Sonic Youth and Depeche Mode, without lapsing into cheesiness; difficult, but thankfully not impossible. This is my first M83 record after I discovered their lead single (Midnight City) on the internet and I have to say the musical journey, so to speak, is worth the price of admission (aka CD).

Primarily, the keyboard work is phenomenal. Blending many different synth waves with traditional instrumentation (sax, flutes, guitar, percussion, etc) is not an easy task and Anthony Gonzalez (composer) does an admirable job. Speaking of instrumentation, 'Midnight City' is not the only track you are apt to find a lovely saxophone solo so keep an eye...uh, ear...out for more. Choral harmonies make an appearance as well, including a children's choir, adding an 'epic' quality to some of the tracks. Personal preference will denote whether this is a pro or con, but I am a sucker for the bombastic nature of a swelling chorus/orchestra. However, make no mistake, this is an album entrenched in nu-wave and M83 offers little reprieve despite taking these compositional risks.... Additionally, lead vocalist Morgan Kibby's vocals admirably carry a majority of the melodies; at times breathy, but never unplesant. The lyrics, mostly, stay far away from typical pop kitsch and succeed at being interesting and evocative without trying too hard to be cerebral: "The city is my church", "Oh time", etc.

I, personally, could have done without the pseudo-cinematic dialogue which unfortunately makes an appearance on many tracks. Honestly, I've heard sampled/improvised spoken dialogue so many times from so many other artists it has become an incredibly tired gimmick. Also, like any double album, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" could have used some trimming, albeit not much, but these are minor quibbles among an overall fantastic release. It's definitely a five star album and I won't take that away from them due to a few personal, minor complaints.

What we have here is not your loud, crass, overrated pop-dance-techno album. "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" is something truly special that utilizes brilliant compositions and instrumentation, successfully personifying a seemingly unattainable, illusory soundscape: the dream state. In a sea of bland, irritating, unmitigated auditory garbage, M83's latest effort transcends genre to become a categorical classic. Literally anyone with any musical preference should find something to love. Hurry up...and buy it!

Favorites: "Midnight City" (best track on the album and an ideal first single; sax solo seals the deal), "My Tears Are Becoming A Sea" (delicate masterwork), and "Splendor" (children's choir is brilliantly featured). Read more ›