Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Birds
2. Unrecorded
3. Run Into Flower
4. In Church
5. America
6. On a White Lake, Near a Green Mountain
7. Noise
8. Be Wild
9. Cyborg
10. 0078h
11. Gone
12. Beauties Can Die Bonus

Disc 2:

1. Birds
2. Unrecorded
3. In Church (Cyann & Ben Version)
4. Gone (Live)
5. Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
6. Run Into Flowers (Video)
7. America (Video)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15027 in Music
• Released on: 2004-07-27
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com
Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts is the second album from French electronica duo M83 (Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau) who, thankfully, derive their name from a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Hydra and not from an interminably lackluster stretch of noxious British motorway. The name certainly nods to where their wide-eyed, spaced-out technicolor imaginations are fixed, but they also know how to sound ponderously intense--hence the cold, cello-aided sonority of "Gone," possibly the only track on the album that defies the lambent warmth of the purring analog synths and beguiling reveries that make the rest of the album as enticingly therapeutic as a thermal spa.

Humane post-rock is clearly M83's strongest attribute because both "Run into Flowers" and "On a White Lake, Near a Green Mountain" are curiously pretty cameos, far removed from the automatic anemia of other workmanlike button-pushers. The high point, though, is the symphonic sweetness and motherly female choral vocals of "Beauties Can Die," which is rather like being cradled in the arms of an angel, or at the very least the arms of Sigur Ros and Lesley Garrett. If one really has to die and go to heaven, one rather hopes the journey up there will sound like this. --Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews

bliss
I've never written a review here before, but this album deserves it. I've been loving it in mp3 form for a while now, and I just picked up the domestic release yesterday. While the bonus disc may not warrant a new purchase for those who already have the import, it has some nice tracks. Those of you who don't own this album now, do yourself a favor and check it out. After you've heard a few tracks, you should know if it's your kind of thing or not. For sampling, standout tracks (in my opinion) are "America," "Run Into Flowers," and "Gone."

I personally find this album to contain some of the most beautiful, invigorating, and breathtaking music around This fact is especially remarkable when one considers the decidedly electronic aspects of obvious drum machines and buzzing synths. Merging these aspects with wholly organic samples and droning electric guitar, M83 makes some great music. Stunning climaxes abound, and the quiet that follows them is just as awesome.
I've read that this sounds like music for outer space travel. I have to agree, though listening to this album lends a touch of the fantastic to any setting.

"Dead Cities..." is definitely one of the best albums of 2003. And now it's affordable in the states as well. Don't miss it.

M83 Something different
This album is perhaps one of the best albums of the year. There is a song or 2 for everyone. Some songs sound like the soundtrack to things happening around you. My friend played a couple of tracks for me late one night and I was hooked on the real nice soundscape created by all the sounds and drowned out vocals. I couldn't find something or someone to compare it to. The album is amazing. Its chilled and dark. It takes you on some journey and in the end you don't want to comeback. You want to stay out there and hear the music forever.

Wall of sound
I love this cd. If you have the chance to see M83 live, do it! I saw them a few weeks ago and was totally blown away. I was expecting another boring electronic show but these guys actually played their instruments and in a way that reminded me of Ride in the early 90's. Comparisons to Ride and MBV are apt, however they have a sound that is all their own. 2 thumbs up!