Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (CD - 2003)

M83: Anthony Gonzalez, Nicolas Fromageau.

Additional personnel: Cyann, Villeneuve, Melanie Pain (vocals); Morgan Daguenet (bass instrument).

On the list as one of the most radiant keyboard albums, M83's absurdly lush Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts combines a small arsenal of antiquated synths and drum machines with a shoegaze aesthetic to create a giant starburst of sound and analog miasma. A French duo comprised of Nicolas Fromageau and Anthony Gonzalez, the pair's songs seem to evolve from one major chord to the next with tremendous velocity, always accumulating dense new layers of sound along the way. The keyboards throb, quiver, arpeggiate, and drone with such unbridled intensity that there's rarely any space (or need) for anything else. But while the shrill analog thrash of "America," the frenzied overload of "0078H," and the sustained crescendo of "Noise" certainly prove beyond doubt that guitars needn't be a prerequisite for post-rock dramatics, M83 are so much more than just a quiet-loud-quiet-loud outfit with a twist. As evidenced by the singsongy hymnal of "In Church," the sweetly sung vocals on "Run Into Flowers," and the provincial chimes of final track "Beauties Can Die," M83 is a keyboard band of the best kind: one with nuance, tone, thrash, and color. ~ Mark Pytlik

Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau, two young Frenchmen with a penchant for electronic music, released their first album as M83 in 2001. Two years later (three in the US), they upped the ante with DEAD CITIES, RED SEAS & LOST GHOSTS. It's easy to forgive the countless My Bloody Valentine comparisons the duo garners, especially when the ethereal-yet-organic flow of their swirling, sparkling sound pushes the same emotional buttons that LOVELESS did over a dozen years earlier. The main difference between M83 and MBV, however, is that in sharp contrast to Kevin Shields's lush guitar orchestrations, most of M83's sounds are electronically generated. The blissful swoops and shudders that grace every track may sound like forces of nature, but their origins are largely digital. In this respect, one might make just as valid a connection to the mid-'90s ambient folk-pop of Flying Saucer Attack. Reference points aside, DEAD CITIES is a standout recording of its time, whether you stack it among contemporaries in rock, electronica, or any other genre. minimize