hypersongs

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

A 22-track double album of paired songs, with Zola Jesus on the intro and Joseph Trapanese on orchestral arrangements.
M83, 2011

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is a double album of 73:20, 37:34 on the first disc and 35:46 on the second, whose discs are sibling halves with paired tracks. Gonzalez played vocals, keyboards, programming and guitar, with Zola Jesus singing lead on the intro, Morgan Kibby on backing vocals, Meldal-Johnsen on keys and bass, Loic Maurin on drums, Joey Waronker on percussion, Joseph Trapanese conducting the orchestral arrangements, James King on saxophone and flute, Lyle Workman on guitar and Patrick Warren on piano, with children's and adult choirs. Tony Hoffer and Antoine Gaillet mixed it and Dave Cooley mastered. The string and brass players were unpaid and credited under pseudonyms because of budget and union issues.

Singles were "Midnight City" (August 16, 2011), "Reunion" (February 2012), "OK Pal", "Steve McQueen" and "Wait" (December 5, 2012). It reached 44 in the UK, 38 in France and 15 in Switzerland, and went gold in the UK and France. Metacritic scored it 76. Simon Price in the Independent called it a towering city of sparkling synth edifices. It ranks 134 on Pitchfork's list of the best albums of the 2010s.

Track listing

  1. Intro5:22
  2. Midnight City4:03
  3. Reunion3:55
  4. Where the Boats Go1:46
  5. Wait5:43
  6. Raconte-moi une histoire4:04
  7. Train to Pluton1:15
  8. Claudia Lewis4:31
  9. This Bright Flash2:23
  10. When Will You Come Home?1:23
  11. Soon, My Friend3:09
  12. My Tears Are Becoming a Sea2:31
  13. New Map4:22
  14. OK Pal3:58
  15. Another Wave from You1:53
  16. Splendor5:06
  17. Year One, One UFO3:17
  18. Fountains1:21
  19. Steve McQueen3:48
  20. Echoes of Mine3:39
  21. Klaus I Love You1:44
  22. Outro4:07

More from M83

M83 (2001), Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (2003), Before The Dawn Heals Us (2005), Saturdays = Youth (2008), Oblivion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2013), Junk (2016), DSVII (2019), Fantasy (2023), A Necessary Escape (Dakar Chronicles Original Soundtrack) (2025), Resurrection (Original Soundtrack) (2025), I Wrote You A Letter (2026)

Sources

  1. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, Wikipedia
  2. M83, Deep in Dreams, Interview (2011-10-17)
  3. Progress Report: M83, Stereogum (2011-10-19)