Future Sound of London – Dead Cities – Review

Future Sound of London

Dead Cities (Astralwerks)
by Joshua Brown

Future Sound of London are two guys who spend a lot of time at home. Prior to Dead Cities, they released ISDN, their “live” album, as a follow-up to their tremendous Lifeforms album. For FSOL, playing live does not entail leaving their own Earthbeat studio and performing a proper gig (something they’ve never done). It means broadcasting their set, consisting entirely of samples tweaked, sometimes beyond recognition, over TV, radio waves, and club sound systems. Their post avant-garde tracks can be enjoyed alongside some wild computer-generated or -enhanced imagery from Earthbeat.

It’s this contrast of isolation and unorthodox popularity that sets the tone for Dead Cities. It’s a fast ride through post-Apocalyptic Hell in an expensive sports car. It’s an astral journey in a vortex of starved souls who still hang around their claustrophobic, dilapidated, rat- and roach-infested flats, not yet realizing they’re dead, “In a State of Permanent Abyss.” It’s the clang of metal on metal, spitting and hissing circuitry, and wispy, operatic voices emanating from another place and time. From the more-Prog-than-Prog-Rock “My Kingdom” (also released as an EP-length single), to the microscopic, psychotropic “Through Your Gills I Breathe,” Dead Cities is a tear-soaked masterpiece that tells tales of angels and derelicts.