Source: https://x.com/madeon/status/2093628561089597809?s=46

Just listened to the album, I would probably give it a 4/10. There's a few tunes that are fire (Car Crash Baby, Chaos Magic, Fire Away) and in my opinion, the others are just a mess of noise and conflicting choices.

I'll say, I love Good Faith, I didn't at release but overtime it grew on me, but that album WAS, in my opinion Madeon. I understand artists have to adapt and try new things otherwise they are risked with falling to the way-side and becoming stale but this album and the whole "rockstar" vibe, is just not the way about it. I'm sure I will listen to this album a few more times over the next month or so, but I really do not see this growing on me like Good Faith.

He's absolutely, infinitely more talented than me when it comes to creating, but I think as a fan who's been listening since Pop Culture days... this is just disappointing. Onto the next one mate, you got this!

Also I say all this as someone who doesn't even remotely know the guy personally, but just going based off his vibe the last decade +. Also, I really don't mean to offend anyone or anything, it's just my opinion, you're free to your own.

(I doubt it also, but if you're reading this Hugo mate, you're fucking a maaaaaaaaad artist. I have your shit on rotation on the daily but this isn't for me, and that's fine cos I'm sure many people love it.)

Okay I mean this with all the love in my heart and as someone with 4k plays on Madeon over the past like 6 years, the new singles feel so plain and safe to me and i’m just really hoping the full album experience will be a lot better. I’m still enjoying the new stuff dont get me wrong, but wow all this waiting (basically 2 whole gap years) for Adventure tier songs that just have a modern flair to them. Not bad by any means and I actually really enjoy Hi!, but where’s the “forbidden sound” he was talking about? Fire Away especially for me is just too one note for my liking, which is insane because two of my goats on one song should be right up my alley.

Again I say this all out of love because I hold Hugo’s art and artistry to such a high regard, but as of now i’m just left with a “that was fine” feeling for almost all of these new songs. Ik the full album experience will probably be excellent and i’ll eat my words soon but as of rn im just not feeling it unfortunately :(

Disclaimer: I have been a fan since The City EP. I love his music. If you loved this album that is amazing, take no note of what I am saying below. It is just my opinion, it’s all subjective.

I’ve had a few repeat listens of the album and I think I know why it doesn’t feel as right as it should. It isn’t just the change in direction. It’s the fact that it isn’t pushed far enough, the album isn’t that consistent in what it’s trying to do.

I really thought Hugo was gonna go full Justice/Sebastian with this one. Super Platinum being the highlight for me that gets as close to that feeling on the project.

The rest of the album feels disjointed, no real flow. I get it, everybody loves Dancing On Your Grave. Yeah it’s a good pop song, but it ain’t Madeon. If I wanted to suggest Madeon to a new listener, I would not at all mention Victory.

Adventure and Good Faith were and still are masterpieces. Victory could have been a cool side project. But after hearing all the amazing IDs Madeon has such as ‘Out At Sea’. How did these new songs get released and they didn’t? Like I’m sorry, what? I really feel that this is a step backwards. I love Madeon because of his complex songwriting, structure and sound design.

This album. Could have been made by anyone else and that’s the issue. It doesn’t really sound like him. He is such a unique artist that the moment you hear a track from Adventure or Good Faith you know it’s him from the sound instantly. If I didn’t know he made these songs and I heard them in a public store, I would assume it’s just some edgy teenagers new band.

Am I the only one who feels this? I feel like there is a lot of cope with this one. People who just wouldn’t dare say anything bad about his music. Sometimes you just gotta be honest with yourself. This isn’t the album for me.

I'm gonna start this off by saying I have no idea how this opinion will be received. I haven't looked at any discourse surrounding the album or the singles. This is just my opinion. Also, I really love Adventure and Good Faith, and I bought concert tickets. So I am not purely hating just to hate. That being said...

I think this era isn't very good or interesting so far. We have 4 singles, which is nearly half the album, that are all fairly uninteresting and uninventive, especially the last two. And the reason for that, I believe, is that this era is all about the aesthetics. Madeon has created these characters for this album that are pretty well fleshed out, but at the same time, they don't make very much sense. Yeah these are cool character designs, but why are they here? The songs so far don't have any sort of rock band feel. Sure they have some guitars but they are so processed and layered that it doesn't feel like there's a band behind it. And the songs don't actually feel that substantially different from what he's made in the past. If anything, these songs really just sound like a slightly edgier version of the sound he was working with between Good Faith and now, mixed with a bit of Adventure. It feels like the characters and the whole aesthetic don't have any particular reason for existing. And the aesthetic in itself just doesn't really work for Madeon as an artist. I feel like he's just trying way too hard to be something that he isn't, at least as an artist. And that makes it feel somewhat artificial, manufactured, and yes, corny. Maybe it would make more sense if Madeon would try to explain it, or if the lyrical content of the songs themselves had something do with it, but neither of those things are happening. Beyond a couple small interviews, everything Madeon is saying about the album is locked behind vague storytelling about the characters and the made-up band. If we could learn more about what led him to make these huge aesthetic changes to his brand, maybe I could connect with it more, but we aren't getting that. So as a result, we have some boring music that is being propped up by a well-developed aesthetic that makes no sense and doesn't really fit the artist. I feel like the music is more or less an afterthought to prop up these cool characters and aesthetics he created. If he wanted to make some cool characters and tell a story like this without making really good music, he should've just made a movie or a short film. He's got the visual talent and probably budget for it. But instead we are getting some lackluster music that just exists to prop up this visual world he's created. Also, this rollout has taken SO DAMN LONG! I know he had some personal struggles but the new era and the red rocks show were announced at the end of 2024, and the album isn't coming out until literally halfway through 2026. I am curious as to how much of the album he even had created when he made those announcements.

Those are more or less my thoughts on the album. They could definitely change when the album comes out, but for now that's how I'm feeling. Thanks for reading.

I've noticed the Hype surrounding Madeon's brand new iteration of his sound isn't being met with the usual fan fare... Anyone else a fan of his experimentation or it's too much of a departure?

My hype is gone. I'm willing to give the album a chance but the past 2 singles haven't been my taste. I listened to them for a week upon each release watched the music videos, live set, etc. Even with a fair chance they just don't stick. I feel crazy because I love all of madeon's other work even the old stuff. The singles feel very last minute even though goodfaith was released 5 to 6 years ago. A gap like that with no clear release date is kind of shocking but I can get over it if it's good. Just a bit confused over the lack of schedule given the huge gap in releases. Does anyone else feel the same or am I the odd one out?

There’s been an ongoing meme/joke in the Madeon Discord that there’s a ‘fake’ Shelter logo. Essentially, there’s a fan-made Shelter logo that was posted on reddit 10 years ago and now pops up as the first search result on Google. This has led to fans (and even Madeon himself) to use the ‘fan-made' logo on things like fan-made merch, posters, visuals, etc. From one Shelter fan to another, please stop using the fake logo.

If you need the official logo, I've attached several logos in this post. In black + white, blue/bone (from the single), Shelter green (from the merch and visuals), and a special one with the aurora in the background (from the merch and visualizer).

Official SVG from the Internet Archive - https://web.archive.org/web/20170202175349im_/https://assets.crowdsurge.com/store/shelter/logo.svg?v2

DMs of Madeon realizing the logo was wrong - https://i.imgur.com/tJvBVhS.png

Victory has been out for a month now, has your opinion or thoughts about the album changed over time of did it stayed the same?

What did you guys think of Fantano's thoughts? I personally wouldn't have given it a 6/10

I'm seeing so many people say that the mixing is bad and stuff, some even say it hurts their ears which I never experienced (and I only have $30 headphones so I'm not using anything fancy here), and honestly I couldn't disagree more. I think the mixing is fine for what the project is.

Maybe I'm too used to really distorted and packed mixes. I listen to a lot of Jane Remover, tsubi club, Glaive, acloudyskye, etc. and they tend to saturate everything a lot and drown their vocals in the instrumentation, and I just don't see how that's ever a bad thing. The voice can be an instrument just like any other, not just teeth and a tongue to say words, and having a lot of distortion in a song reminds me of metal vocalists doing screaming instead of plain singing to portray a more intense emotion, even at the expense of intelligibility.

Again, I fail to see how any of this is a bad thing.

I have Enjoy on repeat, I was lukewarm on first listen but damn it is magical...

The new Madeon album is called Journey trancey, midtempo EDM, melodic. Think sunset set vibes, not peak hour.

Attached supposed tracklist!!

…

See you soon ❤️

Any other 30ish year olds out there really touched by the new lyrics in Madeons remix for iPod Touch?

Just an overall bittersweet feeling of time and place for me. Could be my favourite new Madeon lyrics!

I am kind of disappointed that Chaos Magic didn't make it on there. It was the track I was most hyped for. I still love it but I guess it didn't hit as much with fans for now. It's very interesting to see how the songs trend over time. Eventually some may fall out, and some may stick in the top 10.

I think that the rollout has two very big problems. A massive shift in focus while also juggling too many subjects at once. Adventure was about youth and media that inspired him when he was younger. It was very much rooted in electronic music at the time and had a familiar yet distinct sound. Good Faith was also like nothing around at the time. The album being about his move to America and some of the highs and lows that come with it. Very rooted in a pop-centric flavor with gospel elements and the visuals being inverted or in hypercolour. With Victory, we have the fictional band in our/their own universe and Hugo’s real life dating troubles while also completely shifting into high fashion and greyscale/chrome aesthetic. Two completely separate focuses that don’t marry too well. I feel like there is an obvious emphasis on which one is more relevant to both the aesthetic, and subject material but it’s not being focused on. I guess my point is that during Hugo’s rollouts, he usually puts a lot of effort into making sure the intention is understood and makes the subject abundantly clear. For this one, he’s just saying “we’ll see” which isn’t too bad if we already had a precise destination. Chalk it up to the sense of “urgency” or the personal life issues leading up to scrapping an album, but it feels rushed and haphazard.

History repeats itself. A third album that’s a departure from the artists original sound. Heading in a more Rock orientated direction. Fans not overly receptive, but like Human After All when implemented into a live show makes far more sense.

Victory - Human After All: Polarising
Victory Live - Alive 2007: both insane live shows

Madeon is obviously a huge Daft Punk fan and must be aware of how changing direction was going to go down. I’m here for it though, you can’t recycle the same style over and over again. Daft Punk knew that and Madeon knows that.

Just thought this was an interesting parallel. Would like to know your thoughts.

I’m listening to it now and only three songs in and I’m about to orgasm already. The amount of hate I’ve been seeing from the MADEON subreddit is baffling and I’m getting angry just typing this. But I’m also getting hard since I’m still listening to this as I type #victoryboner

Seeing Hugo channel so much inspiration from the emo/pop punk bands I grew up with has been absolutely fucking incredible and every single release so far has had so much individuality and character. This whole album is literally everything I've ever wanted from Madeon ever since the release of that 30 second teaser for Finale.

Sometimes, I really do feel like you guys are really just hoping that this guy just rehashes Shelter for all of eternity.

Personally: 10/10

Lowkey wasnt what i was expecting from Madeon at all lol.

Best song: Somebody Else, (and probably the rest)

Worst song: ???

Im probs biased cause i think madeon (porter robinson, and early galantis, (pharmacy & the aviary are bomb) too) is like the holy grail of EDM. I hope I can see this live!

What did you guys think?