Fantasy
In an interview about his 2023 album of melancholy synth-pop, *Fantasy*, Anthony Gonzalez (aka M83) said he didn’t want to talk about modern life so much as he wanted to avoid it. The irony is that since the release of 2011’s *Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming*, few artists have had as big of an impact on indie electronic music’s passage into the mainstream. Where 2016’s *Junk* explored the playful side of his ’80s obsessions and 2019’s *Knife + Heart* soundtracked the erotic, threatening side, the anthems of *Fantasy* tap into the heroism that has made his narrow vision so broadly appealing, from the tight New Wave vibe of “Amnesia” to the unsettling grandeur of “Dismemberment Bureau.” His nostalgia is escape, yes—but it’s also rebellion.
On his ninth album, Anthony Gonzalez is still trying to recapture childhood’s pangs of wonderment. This time, his nostalgia leads him back to the youthful drama of his own Before the Dawn Heals Us.
Diving into the escapist qualities that only cinematic synths and glossy pop melodies can offer, M83's Fantasy continues Anthony Gonzalez's trademark of balancing melancholia alongside euphoria
Anthony Gonzalez’s ninth album as M83 sees him trying to shun commercialism, with largely successful results
Described by M83's Anthony Gonzalez as some of his most personal work, Fantasy does indeed capture what makes his music tick: an unabashed, maximalist love of spinning dreams.
Anticipation was high for Fantasy. The first proper artist album from M83 in seven years — a soundtrack for his brother's Knife + Heart fill...
M83’s Anthony Gonzalez is a master of subtlety. A pillar of any M83 song is the dynamic feeling it evokes, oftentimes a whole host of feeling across a single song.
M83’s ‘Fantasy’ is the stuff of neon dreams, even if the group’s ’80s throwback sound has lost some of its novelty. Read our review.
With a bloated runtime and a tendency toward monochromatic synth textures, M83's ninth studio record 'Fantasy' indulges one too many of the group's clichés.
Fantasy by M83 Album Review by Adam Fink for Northern Transmissions. The artist's forthcoming release drops on March 17th via Mute Records
French music project M83's new album flatters to deceive. Album New Music review by Tom Carr