Music review: M83, 'Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming'

M83

Dance Rock

Anthony Gonzalez’s preference for grandeur manifests itself as quickly as the first tones of synthesized pathos swell to begin M83’s new double album, .

The record is littered with songs that — despite a pleasant familiarity — simply bore you with convention. Among these is “Reunion,” which is rendered plodding and clumsy by ham-fisted drumming and surprisingly thin bass.

Either Gonzalez needs to step out of the shadow of classic rock’s dated and uninspiring sonic framework, or approach it with the ironic distance that made Twin Shadow’s unforgettable.

This is not to say that the record is completely devoid of merit. In fact, offers multiple glimpses of Gonzalez’s musical creativity and compositional skill.

The obvious standout is the record’s first single, “Midnight City.” A mangled sample of Gonzalez’s vocals both opens the track and stitches it together, appearing like a strand of vibrantly colored thread in every chorus.

“Midnight City” represents Gonzalez’s most deft handling of the musical style of the recent past: The Junior-Walker-style saxophone solo, circa 1981, is softly mixed with tumbling, tropical percussion, strong, starship synths and the track’s signature otherworldly sample.

Still, tracks like “Claudia Lewis” and “New Map” best represent the disappointing impression the album leaves.

Both are enjoyable, catchy — even sometimes danceable — but reek of Gonzalez’s homogeneous influences. When filtered through his underwhelming originality, the record becomes a particularly heavy-handed musical collage.