M83 Review

M83, at the time of this record, was an electronic duo. Based in France, the group mixes elements of ambient electronica and post-rock. Think of My Bloody Valentine but more electronic and with less vocals. I'll continue track by track.

1. Birds
I usually hate intro tracks, but this is a pretty good intro. Bird chirps get taken over by a keyboard swell and a robotic voice. It's works to introduce the record and doesn't just end up being useless, like most intro tracks.
2. Unrecorded
One of the more obviously electronic tracks. Nestled in a blanket of huge sonic atmosphere are these undulating keyboard lines, that have a somewhat cheesy tone to them. I have no issues with the keyboard tone, but it may turn off those who don't really care for electronic music. Overall, I like this track. I feel it still acts as an intro, easing you into the next song.
3. Run Into Flowers

Perhaps the best song on the entire record and also the most obvious example of a My Bloody Valentine influence. Every time I hear this song I'm impressed. My mood has to adjust to this song, the keyboards swells and melodies swell and fly around each other to somehow mesh and yet keep everything moving. Things slow down in the 1/2 way mark, which is where the vocals come in. The soft, repeated vocal line, holds everything together while the music gets more lush and freeform. Fantastic song.
4. In Church
As expected, "In Church" is driven by organs. Massive organ tones take up almost the entire soundscape, but little twinkles and vocal lines sneak in. A synth line then sneaks in to make things even more grand. The track is a great atmospheric piece, but doesn't really go anywhere. 3/5 type of track.
5. America
A quiet pulse and various voices, child and adult, take up the beginning. Then after a short drum fill the song grows extremely tense. A woman speaks frantically, over increasingly harsh music. The song settles down quickly, but then rushes back up to create that frantic, hurried mood over again. This time a guitar throws even more erratic noise over the entire mix, then soon enough it's over. Solid track, and a welcome break some the slow, contemplative pieces of the album.
6. On A White Lake, Near A Green Mountain
In contrast to the title, the song isn't all that relaxing. It doesn't really set any mood. Some songs are good just for background music, but this track is just too average. If not for review purposes, I would skip it.
7. Noise
A washed guitar line fills up sonic space, while a piano note drops in every 4 beats. This pattern continues with variations in other parts. The drums may drop out, or another guitar may be added, but the basic parts stay the same. A bit repetitive, but still an enjoyable song. It does eventually just become lots of guitar and synth noise.
8. Be Wild
Starts with a rather cold synth line. Soon enough, little sounds get sprinkled in, that make things softer and gentler. Eventually the initial synth line gets swallowed up by walls of lush synth swells and twinkling, bell-like tones. The song starts somewhere and ends in a completely different place. Enjoyable listen.
9. Cyborg
Almost staccato blurbs get mixed with a flowly guitar line. The whole thing is rather mid-tempo, but eventually a noisy melody bursts in creating quite a bit of atmosphere over the casual synth blurbs and guitar line. Another highlight of the album.
10. 0078h
Perhaps the most electronic of all the album tracks. It doesn't really scream electronic post-rock. A cut-up vocal line sweeps left to right with a quick, danceable beat. Even though it repeats a decent amount; a catchy track. A winner.
11. Gone
This track is just too slow. A cello note is sustained for quite some time, too much time perhaps. Things just seem too cold. 3 minutes of changes are stretched out to 6, and the results are a dash boring. Maybe worth a listen.
12. Beauties Can Die
Bells twinkle with subtle keyboard sweeps. It starts very gentle and relaxing, the this massive tone soars over the bells and sweeps and carries the track. Massive vocals adds even more push and grandeur. You could complain about the 14 minutes length, but it is the final track, so it's not as though flow is ruined. Things are generally done by the 3:30 mark. A nice track; a palette cleanser of sorts.

The 2nd Disc:
Consists of 6 Bonus tracks and two videos. The only standout is the Cyann & Ben version of "In Church". The organs are played down and a nice, acoustic guitar melody is added in. This version is much more inclusive. Better than the original. The two music videos for "America" and "Run Into Flowers" aren't bad, the "America" video is interesting, but nothing spectacular. A nice bonus for a minimal price increase.

I was in the mood for something contemplative, that I could just get lost in.Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts is one of those records. The moods set throughout, while sometimes overly grand, are heartfelt. A winner.