Dead Cities

[Choralone]

This is a biased post. And many might disagree. Which is fine!

I feel that this album is the pinnacle, the progression, of FSOL. They have maybe felt the need to disown it and make a 'feminine' album like The Isness (which I think is not that great), and that's fine, too. My reaction is that this album fits me better than the others. The reasons being, it showcases their strengths better than the others do, due to VARIETY. Sure, it's a dark album as a whole. But you'll find every example of what makes them excellent from track to track. Ambiance, aggression, etc...it all hangs out on this album. I do love Lifeforms, but I find it monochromatic. Dead Cities has less repetition and more excitement and more VARIETY. Track to track, it all flows together but it still has surprises. The other albums were the bridge; the transition. This is the one they were meant to do. They change things up. Not content to just loop something 4/4 and slap some samples on top the entire time. How weird is it that they chose "Herd Killing" to open the album? That's an abrasive choice, and I love it. Guitars, disco, Run DMC - it works. And the most beautiful song they ever wrote, with the best drum beat they ever used, My Kingdom. And they will use heavy metal, spooked out Vangelis samples, disco, piano, smooth jazz, drum and bass...to me it's the one that is the freshest and stands the test of time the most amongst their discography. My only complaint is that they could have chosen a far better single than "We Have Explosive". I don't hate the track, but hardly the best one on the album.

Okay, I'm quite drunk.

[RazorJack]

Yep, I agree that this is their best album

[Ross]

Probably my third favourite FSOL record, after Lifeforms and Environments II.

I think the single tracks are the weakest point - the single version of My Kingdom is my favourite piece of music of all time, but the album version always seemed very messy to me. And I've never warmed to We Have Explosive since I first heard it. Always found it very crude on the whole.

The biggest strength of album is, as you say, its variety. Being able to put Max next to Antique Toy without it being especially jarring, and similar juxtapositions throughout the record, is testament to their focus as musicians.

I do think it lacks a little of the depth of Lifeforms, though - the pieces are a bit more obvious 'electronica' for me, less sample-based, less dense and collagey. There are moments where it seems a little more anonymous, particularly the run of IDM and jungle influenced pieces in the second half. The thing that makes Lifeforms so special to me is that it doesn't really sound like anything else, even on a track-by-track basis. On Dead Cities you can definitely hear contemporary influences.

[Choralone]

I guess I disagree with you in that I think Dead Cities was way more dense. They always seemed to be a loop based band, and the way they layered their loops progressed, and in my opinion, was more creative on Dead Cities. Lifeforms seems more a product of its time, as atmospheric as it is. It just goes in one direction, whereas Dead Cities goes in several directions, with more energy.

[Ross]

I suppose just in terms of layers of sound, Lifeforms seems to have more going on. There are so many buried sounds and samples in Lifeforms that I still struggle to identify, and I hear new stuff every time I listen. There are several tracks on Dead Cities that don't do that for me. The tracks sound a bit more stripped back, maybe, to a simpler palette of sounds.

I think every '90s FSOL record is a product of its time somewhat, I don't think Dead Cities is necessarily any less guilty of that. A lot of the beat programming is incredibly mid '90s sounding.

[Pandemonium]

To quote myself

- Dead Cities has more genres and sub-genres in it than any other album I've heard (and I've heard a lot). The complexity is really off the charts. I've literally never met a music fan, no matter what genre of music the fan was into, that didn't like this album [and I can't say the same about Lifeforms]. The quality obviously speaks for itself and I've seen people stand in awe (too many times) listening to this album - rockers, jazzers, punkers, metalheads - it doesn't matter. Of all the 90s albums, if I have to pick a favorite, this will be the one. (sorry Lifeforms... you are the more complete one, but this one speaks more to me...)

Choralone, since you're new, more of my thoughts on Dead Cities can be found HERE. -- and more on Lifeforms HERE.

Basically it's like having to pick your favorite child

- And I wouldn't even try to compare the '90s albums with the post-2007 - I just can't...

PS - looks like more fans (at least here on the Board) really do like Dead Cities more... or just slightly more...

[Mr Royale]

I think ISDN is my favourite, but I love Dead Cities equally. Lifeforms has great stuff but none of it lasts long enough (except a few tracks). I wish they had made a full Double CD; 160 minutes, not 90.