Rewind: M83 "Hurry Up We're Dreaming"

By Victoria Pilar Nava TOP TRACK: "Midnight City" BOTTOM TRACK: "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire"

4 1/2 Nancies

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is like an hour and a half of lucid dreams. The intro track alone spans more than five minutes, increasing its powerful layers with each line. At the climax, fellow goth-pop master Zola Jesus joins in for an explosion of lyrical and instrumental exchanges. The album's single, and most dazzling song, "Midnight City", follows with its eruptive chorus of falsetto shouting, ending with a triumphant sax solo. Then there's "Claudia Lewis," mimicking the disco-gaze M83 sound originally trademarked by its precursor "Kim and Jessie." Each breakdown initiates the "Oh shit, is this real?" syndrome (aka the LSD effect), building into angelic shoe-gaze riffs that come in waves, gathering a steam that leaves you high off of aural vapors. Years in the making, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is a twenty-two track-journey through the brighter times in the darkness.