The Future Sound of London – Dead Cities

This album is a testament to advanced creative thinking. It always was ahead of its time, and i think it still is almost 8 years on. Nothing else exists that sounds anything like this.
Having been an FSOL fan for much of my life, i have never been compelled to write anything about them. Til now, mainly because of the fact that they are still going strong and their music is just as lush and atmospheric as it was a decade ago.

Where to begin. Dead Cities is the only record i have ever sold, probably due to the fact that it was seriously creepy, disjointed and a little bit worrying, especially when accompanied by the artwork, which was a little too apocalyptic for my tastes when i was 15 years old and still listening to Apollo 440.

What a pleasant surprise it was to reaquire this record 6 years on since parting company. FSOL don’t make music like most people do. Their live show is a testament to that. It can only be described as a living, breathing soundscape (anybody with the Lifeforms EP will recognise this), which changes frequently and evokes all kinds of emotions, from fear to joy. The attention to detail is quite staggering, the only other artist that springs to mind with such vision is Amon Tobin.

Daker techno moments surface with Herd Killing and We Have Explosive, which are probably the most accessible tracks on the record. Lesser known gems include Vit Drowning and Yage, a stunningly beautiful section of four tracks which include Everyone in the World…, My Kingdom, Max and Antique Toy. This particular section of the album is the backbone of it, where the rest of it fleshes it out perfectly and provides cohesion.

The closer is a gem. Just when you think all is said and done, FSOL have one last thing on their mind. The heavy metal thrash at the end is very interesting. It would seem almost like a therapy session for the group by trying to get something off of their chests and the signalling of an end of a musical chapter of the band. As we all know, their consecutive albums after this was their Amorphous Androgynous outings which were largely inspired by the instrumental experimentation that went on at this time in the band.

But why 4 stars and not 5? If anybody has listened to much FSOL, this album can only achieve 4 stars with respect to FSOL’s standards. Lifeforms (EP and Album), Accelerator and The Isness have a charm about them. Where these albums are about a celebration of life (amongst other things), this album is about paranoia and the inevitability of death and despair.

The apocalyptic feel of this album is well integrated into the music and artwork, along with their short film Teachings from the Electronic Brain, and it must be said that it does have its lighter moments in the form of My Kingdom, Antique Toy and Yage (I can’t get it out of my head), so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Maybe get the others before this one if you are new to FSOL. It is not a true reflection on the band as a whole, it serves more to demonstrate that “yes, we can go there if we want to” kind of mentality.

But then again, if you like good electronic music, especially those who like Mr Tobin’s work, Global Communication and to a lesser extent Brian Eno’s ambient outings, you shouldn’t be disappointed with this. A timeless classic. Just wish i never sold it in the first place.

Buy Future Sound of London – Dead Cities @ Amazon