Dead Cities (album)
| Dead Cities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by The Future Sound of London | ||||
| Released | 18 October 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Earthbeat Studios, London – 1996 | |||
| Genre | Electronica, acid house, big beat, rave | |||
| Length | 70:11 | |||
| Label |
Astralwerks ASW 6181 (US) Virgin CDV 2814 (UK) |
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| Producer | The Future Sound of London | |||
| The Future Sound of London chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+) |
| Q | |
| Muzik | |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| Alternative Press | |
| Headphone Commute | (favorable) |
| Almost Cool |   |
| Robert Christgau |  |
Dead Cities is a 1996 album by electronic music group The Future Sound of London.
Though almost without lyrics to speak of, most of the first half of the album (with the exception of "Her Face Forms in Summertime") is dark and full of well structured malevolence in that its songs combine synthetic sounds with samples to create an apocalyptic, dystopian atmosphere. The second half of the disc however is rather more relaxed and FSOL combine the darkness with more of their now familiar complex, ambient techniques to create an odd, peaceful yet intriguing atmosphere.
The album art consisted of 3D graphics, photography, and writing complementing the album's themes, combined via digital image editing. This was created primarily by the band and then-frequent artistic collaborator Buggy G. Riphead. A limited edition release of the album included a 196-page book, containing additional artwork and writing in the same style.
"My Kingdom" and "We Have Explosive" were released as singles. The "My Kingdom" music video was directed by the same artistic collaboration, whereas the "We Have Explosive" music video was directed by 2D-animator Run Wrake.
Though the album contains 13 tracks, the track listing on the back insert of the CD is ambiguous, as 15 song titles are listed, with most of the second half of songs not numbered. The common interpretation, confirmed by the promo edition of the CD, is listed here:
Album – UK Albums Chart
Singles – UK Singles Chart
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Wikipedia