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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birds | M83 | Play | 00:53 | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| 2 | Unrecorded | M83 | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Run Into Flowers | M83 | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 4 | In Church | M83 | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | America | M83 | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | On a White Lake, Near a Green Mountain | M83 | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Noise | M83 | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | Be Wild | M83 | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | Cyborg | M83 | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | 0078h | M83 | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Gone | M83 | Play | 06:07 | 14 MB | 39 MB |
| 12 | Beauties Can Die | M83 | Play | 14:36 | 33 MB | 61 MB |
| 56 mins | 130 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 360 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolas Barlet | Audio Engineer |
| 2 | Cyann | Vocals |
| 3 | Morgan Daguenet | Audio Engineer, Bass Instrument |
| 4 | Nicolas Fromageau | Audio Production, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 5 | Anthony Gonzalez | Audio Production, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 6 | M83 | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Melanie Pain | Vocals |
| 8 | Villeneuve | Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |