Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts

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Birds twitter over a rising crackle, a modulated voice comes into focus amidst the static, leading the introduction to this hauntingly good album. Theres something badly wrong in here, making usage of 80's synth sounds which rightfully should have been left for dead in the dumpster along with their primitive transistors, M83 saw fit to resurrect them, combine their dodgy BBC-made-for-TV-sci-fi sounds with a guitar wall of sound ala My Bloody Valentine, layer it with hazy drug-addled wisps of lyric and sweet angelic backing vocals and somehow succeed in making what i really consider one of the finest records of the year.

"Run Into Flowers", the third track on the album, gives me shivers. Its the track that goes on first thing in the morning, when the british winter rains are rolling down the outside of your window, the track that goes on late at night when your alcohol filtered brain is showing you the beauty within the dilemas and tribulations of your life, the one that you can lay back on your bed and lose yourself within. Its a wash of synth, a rising chorus of female 'ahhhhh-ahh-ahh's, a drum buildup, crashing into a crescendo verse of whispered-lying-in-a-pool-of-self-pity "Gimme booze and chemikals, i wanna ride with you".

"In Church" is a simple beautiful track, organs reverbrate for the first minute before being joined by the soft harmonizing of a male voice, then forced over the edge by historic synths pushed through vastly overdriven tube amps.

"Cyborg" starts with a siren backing drone and is gently built upon, a keyboard melody interwoven with post-rock guitar, a slow kick and snare, gaining intensity, finally breaking into a quiet before the mogwai-like sonic storm, synths being tortured into almost human wails.

"Beauties Can Die" is the last listed track on the album, an epic tale of reverbrating bass chords and vocals which matches Sigur Ros in terms of sheer beauty, restrained power in every whispered nuance. The track fades to a quiet hum, stillness in the air for around four minutes of silence, till finally one last burst of noise, before the embers finally die out.