M83 - Midnight City

Music 4 years ago

M83 - Midnight City

Maybe Anthony Gonzalez is just working his way back through the years, one album at a time. On his 2005 breakout as M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us, he took the shoegaze guitars of My Bloody Valentine—taken to their peak on the band’s 1991 classic, Loveless—and combined them with cinematic electronics with sci-fi trappings. For 2008’s Saturdays = Youth, Gonzalez turned his space-loving disposition toward the John Hughes 1980s and all its synth-heavy jams.

For his ambitious double-album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, Gonzalez digs even deeper into the ‘80s and even the late ‘70s, channeling Simple Minds here (“Reunion”) and Kraftwerk there (“Raconte-Moi Une Histoire”). As with everything the Frenchman’s done so far, the album is lush and ably produced, crescendo after crescendo. Zola Jesus guests, chiming guitars dominate and even some saxophone makes an appearance.

It almost feels like a weird dream—albeit one that goes on perhaps a little too long. According to recent interviews, the dreamlike state was apparently Gonzalez’s goal. With any dreams there are ups and downs, and the same can be said about Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. But M83 is hardly predictable here, which bodes well for the future. Speaking of unpredictable, maybe he could tackle the Nuggets-era ‘60s next?