So I hate to have two posts in a row about music, but just had to get this one out there.
M-83 is an electronic, shoe gaze, synth machine headed up by Anthony Gonzales. Before the Dawn Heals Us is the French artist’s third album and was released in 2005 and met with critical acclaim.
My friend from back home introduced M83 to me while driving to his house in the middle of a snow storm a couple years back, and I must say there was no better way to listen to Before the Dawn Heals Us. The album’s earthy tones and constant wall of music created a sound my ears had never heard before and offered a soundtrack to the blistery weather around us.
BTDHU opens with a stunning track titled Moon Child. A child’s voice is the opening note to the album, talking about singing so that the whole universe will glow. Then Gonzales makes your hair stand on end with an unbelievable drum break that gives way to a wave of sound that, when I first heard it, thought was the sound light would make if it had audio outputs.
Moon Child lays the framework for the rest of the album, something that many artists forget to do with their opening track. The album is meant to be listened to in its entirety, sort of like a Kid A or Dark Side of the Moon or any of Sigur Ros’ albums. While each track is great on its own accord, some of the magic is lost without the remainder of the album around it. The sound of the album reminds me of a cross between Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine's Loveless.
That comparison being made, BTDHU is stunningly original. In the song Car Chase Terror, most of the music comes from the sound of passing cars and the sobs of a woman hiding in her car with her child from someone – or something:
“He was there... His car was parked there in the same gas station,
all dressed in green, dark green.
I couldn't move my head, but I was watching him in the mirror.
Oh, it was horrible!
His face was sort of erased, but I knew he was looking at me.
Two invisible eyes, two invisible and monstrous eyes.”
Creepy.
BTDHU is an ambitious work. It is meant to overwhelm the listener, like diving into a pool of musical notes when you don’t know how to swim. The album hits my musical buttons in all the right places. It has an ambient tone that lets the listener create a backdrop and meaning to the harmonies presented. It is the philosopher’s synth music, something meant to be contemplated and not danced to.
From the sweeping melody of Moon Child to the final dying note on Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun, Gonzales creates a new universe of music with these 15 tracks. They can only be described as an experience. The album deserves full attention, not to be listened to in the background during a party or while cramming for an exam. Pop this in on a long car drive or while trying to fall asleep at night and you are taken away to a place of icy monoliths and mysticism.
You can try out the album here. Strap on the headphones and get ready for a ride.
- Dabs
Well done man. I like that you mentioned how it became the soundtrack to your snowy ride. That's one thing that's always stuck out to me about music. I usually end up associating the sound with an experience... like the way a Foo Fighter's cd sounded like a summer drive with the windows down, or Amnesiac by Radiohead was the music for autumn a few years back.
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