A Thousand Thoughts Decline Away...

Song of the Day: November 16, 2011

M83 - “Midnight City” from Hurry Up We’re Dreaming

My recent affection for 80s inspired music does not appear to be ending anytime soon, as I think this is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long, long time, from an album that is now one of my favorites of 2011.

I thought Saturdays = Youth, the 2008 album from the French electronic-indie artist Anthony Gonzalez, was good yet flawed. I reasoned that alot of the songs were ultimately forgettable, sounded too much like they belonged in a John Hughes movie, and that the album was fractured in the sense that half the songs were nifty, ambient atmospheric pieces while the other half were these upbeat 80s pop tracks. So I favored songs like “We Own The Sky” and “You, Appearing” over tracks like “Graveyard Girl” and “Kim and Jessie” which were more beloved by the indie community, and I could not reconcile the two styles.

Well Hurry Up We’re Dreaming is somehow even more ambitious than the band’s previous work (it’s actually a double album that is over 70 minutes long) and continues to showcase Gonzalez’s desire to be brooding at times, and poppy at others. But this time around, M83 has succeeded at trying to do so many different things at once, as the many layers piled on top of each track allows the album to have a very dense and rewarding flow that makes the album as a whole standout. This is probably best demonstrated on the first single, “Midnight City”, with its catchy, yet haunting synth melody that carries the song, while Gonzalez throws a crapload of different atmospheric flourishes at you as the song progresses (ending it all with random dramatic 80s sax). Often at times, Hurry Up sounds like 80s bands of the past, particularly The Police (see “Reunion”) while at others it appears as if Gonzalez has been listening to alot of the current crop of epic indie rock like Sufjan Stevens (“New Map”), Kings of Leon and The Knife (“Steve McQueen” is somehow reminiscent of both those last two) . The variety makes for an album that is refreshingly rewarding upon each subsequent listen, plus its sequenced in just the right manner so that you aren’t skipping the many bridging interlude tracks. I could still do with out alot of the over-indulgent voiceovers and child storytelling sequences (and there are a number of those), but they don’t hinder the overall concept and effectiveness of the album.

In summary, this album is freakin’ epic, extremely accessible from the get go and runs the full gamut of emotions. Plus I didn’t know it was possible for an album to be both arena rock and ambient at the same time, but it somehow can do multiple things at once and often in the course of one song. Hell, Victoria’s Secret is using “Midnight City” for their new Angel collection ads because its a damn sexy song, while the music video features a bunch of trippy super-powered kids breaking away and enjoying their freedom. Crazy how the song is appropriate for both scenarios.