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Album Details

• Artist: M83
• Album: Before The Dawn Heals Us
• Label: Mute
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dadair on 2005-04-15

Now this is more like it. What was the big deal about Anthony Gonzalez' last M83 album? People went ballistic over it and I thought it was a half-baked soundscape that never took off. Before The Dawn Heals Us is an even more stripped down group, with Nicolas Fromageau leaving, making it pretty much Anthony's show. He let's loose big time here. He even rocks out pretty hard on "Don't Save Us From The Fames". It does lean into the 80s for a little bit of influence but it is a really clever song. The first real similarity I see to Dead Cities is "In The Cold I'm Standing". There are others but I think because there is a little more diversity here as well as the addition of vocals to some of the tracks makes it that much deeper and a better album overall. The opener, "Moonchild" sounds like an even more futuristic Pink Floyd. "Farewell/Goodbye" might even be mistaken for a New Age hit with its ethereal vocals but luckily resulting closer to an Air single. Gonzalez' use of the synthesizer is really first rate and with the thick production of tracks like "Car Chase Terror" it is sure to pick up popularity once again. "*" brings out some very heavy rock sounds and has an impressive loud/soft thing going on. And speaking of rock, can't help but admire the retro rock feel of "A Guitar and a Heart", another one of my favorite tracks. Oh, there are still a lot of similarities to Dead Cities and Before The Dawn Heals Us but this one doesn't have all the lulls that Dead Cities did. The integration of the rock elements is a relief. This album isn't quite as long as the previous but it still clocks in at over an hour. It might be time to go back and check on Dead Cities, I might have more of an appreciation for it now. This music just makes me want to be downtown at night, walking the streets in a daze.

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