Something that I find to be especially annoying is when the term “epic” is used to describe everyday things. Epic, from an actually analytical viewpoint, regards the subject as something that happens over a period of time, requiring specific events to occur, causing a transformation through learned experiences. Your bagel is not epic and neither was the last time you went crazy and drank half a Four Loko in your parent’s basement. “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”, the latest album by M83, is epic.
The introduction, simply entitled, “Intro”, buzzes with a shrouded voice stating, “We didn’t need a story/We didn’t need a real world/We just had to keep walking/And we became the stories.” M83 mastermind, Anthony Gonzalez, continues by singing, “Carry on/Our silver horn it leads the way” before Zola Jesus enters the song with the gusto of an opera singer. This is when “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” transforms the world around you into a dream-like state and you are helpless to do anything but listen for more. Gonzalez is completely in control of the music and the flow of the album is enticing due to the unfamiliarity of the music. Instead of categorizing his songs, Gonzalez manages to write ambiguously, creating powerful pop songs that often transform into ballads. Occasionally, his voice is too distorted to hear any lyrics but this could be intentional, reflecting the feeling of uncertainty while dreaming.
Before the album came out, Gonzalez promised that the new M83 album would contain a larger sound. Instead of over-the-top production or in your face instrumentation, he uses different tactics to emphasize the otherworldly qualities of the songs. In a handful of the songs, voices appear, explaining how things are different. In “OK Pal”, the voice urges the listener to stay calm and hold on tight, while on “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire” centers around the monologue of a child’s voice, walking the listener through the steps of how finding a certain frog will turn you into a frog as well. OK, so that’s not explaining how things are different, but it demonstrates how this album depends on contextualizing dream-like ideas within the songs to allow for a “larger” sound.
The album is divided into two discs, giving a clear distinction that the album should be consciously split into two sections. The first part of the album focuses on the familiar qualities of dreaming. Since typically dreaming occurs at night, “Midnight City” alludes to the creation of dreams while “Reunion,” is about re-establishing previous dreams. The second part of the album begins with “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea,” which is an actual ballad and something of a palate cleanser from the first half of the album.
As the second part of the album unfolds, the tracks become slightly less-structured. “Year One, One UFO”, sounds completely different from the rest of the album. It’s more about the jaunty beat, centered around an acoustic guitar and large drums. Eventually, it builds into a wall of sound and fits into the rest of the tracks. All in all, the second half of “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” possesses a feeling of self-creation that fits into the idea of dreaming and sleep. With titles like, “New Map”, “My Tears Are Becoming a Sea”, and “Splendor”, Gonzalez has decidedly created a feeling of unknown grandeur.
While intending the album to be epic, Gonzalez could easily have ripped off elements of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” or albums with similar qualities. Instead, he tackles dreaming and caters to the idea that the listener should be able to build an epic out of their own thoughts. It’s a refreshing and rewarding experience.
