M83

The Cockpit, Leeds on Wed 8th Jul 2009

The last time this writer saw M83 they were supporting Kings of Leon at Newcastle Arena, a perplexing slot they weren't suited to and one the thousands of people who turned up to see 'Sex On Fire' weren't remotely interested in.

Watching them play to a half full, cavernous room was a frustrating experience, hearing their luscious shoegaze fade away, lost in the yawning space. This is not to say M83 are incapable of enrapturing large audiences, far from it, but that their music drenched in reverb and heady instrumentation, deserves more than a venue as soulless as the Metro Arena. French musician Anthony Gonzalez has spent years honing his band's sound into the dizzying utopia it is today and he starts tonight's performance in The Cockpit's bustling main room as a one-man show.

A solitary silhouette on the darkened stage, head bent diligently over his laptop, flanked by a mysterious box omitting phosphorescent light, the crowd watch in silence as he creates vibrancy nothing short of expansive decadence. As the thick haze fades away into momentary silence the room is hushed almost awkwardly. Towards the back of the room one person hesitantly starts clapping, when no-one else joins in they stop, embarrassed, Gonzalez on the other hand continues unperturbed. This is the kind of gig that is less of a pleasure to watch, rather a ubiquitous sonic assault. Even when the rest of the band, vocalist Morgan Kibby and drummer Loic Maurin, join their leader on stage, the magic of the set is not in the twiddling of knobs and playing synths.

As they unleash 'Sitting' from their 2001 eponymous album complete with somewhat cheesy club sample 'Let's Go', it becomes obvious how intense and heavy these tracks sound, particularly with a live drummer – who throughout for reasons unclear, is encased behind a clear plastic screen. Kicking next into the euphoric breathiness of 'Kim and Jessie', it's a reminder of how the band have progressed since their breakthrough album 'Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts'. After the departure of Gonzalez's collaborator Nicolas Fromageau, the band headed in a more vocal-heavy, focused and tighter direction, while maintaining their swirling submerged sound. For 2008's Saturday = Youth however, Gonzalez seemed to take a step back, injecting his evocative sound-scapes with softness, beauty and more than a hint of glitter-pop and tonight the likes of 'Graveyard Girl', 'Skin of the Night' and 'Couleurs' definitely get the popular vote.

The entrance of the live band certainly banished the awkward atmosphere of Gonzalez's lone performance, and towards the end of the set it's interesting to see how people react to being caught in the throws of M83's blissed-out catharsis, some standing transfixed by ethereal cadences, others taking to full-on moshing down the front. This is music that has the power to completely overwhelm and mesmerise and in comparison to their undeserved hollow performance at the Newcastle Arena last December, tonight was an absolute triumph.

article by: Dannii Leivers

published: 13/07/2009 10:38



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