Some people enjoy music that tells a story, some people want it to make them dance. I like every type, but the experience I’m always on the lookout for – in all genres – is that hairs-on-end, spine-arching moment of suddenly feeling possessed by some sort of cosmic energy. If you’re like me, you’ll really enjoy M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming – it’s absolutely filled with epic moments.
The album certainly shows its 80s synth influences – from Simple Minds-ish pop-rock (“Reunion”, “Ok Pal”) through to Vangelis-style atmospherics (“Splendor”, “Hurry Up We’re Dreaming”). The epic power chords and synth riff of “Steve McQueen” make it the best high-school prom song never to be played in the 80s, and it might only be pipped for best pop song on the album by “Midnight City” (if you can handle the latter’s rather repetitive, grating riff).
In fact, as a double album the only criticism I really have of the Hurry Up We’re Dreaming is that at 22 songs, some of the tracks in the middle fall by the wayside a little compared to the epic grandeur at the beginning and end of the album.
Anyhow, check the album out, it’s well worth a listen. To whet your appetite, I’ve included the track “Echoes of Mine” at the top of the page (as the soundtrack to a very nice timelapse film by Colin Rich), and below you’ll find my favourite song on the album, “Wait”. It’s a real slow-burn, building up until by the end you can’t help but air-drum to the slightly lazy behind-the-beat drum fills (love the subtle use of the bass synth swelling in volume towards the end to really up the dynamics too).
But you may just find that you’ve heard more than a few of these songs already – I heard at least a half dozen during the Olympics coverage, and they’ve also made their way into recent movie soundtracks (for instance, “Outro” is in the recent trailer for the Wachowski’s Cloud Atlas). Which speaks for how well the songs on this album can evoke those epic, transcendental feelings.
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming on iTunes
