Dead Cities (album)

Last updated

Dead Cities
The Future Sound of London Dead Cities album cover.jpg
Studio album by
The Future Sound of London
Released28 October 1996 (1996-10-28)
Recorded1996
StudioEarthbeat Studios, London
Genre IDM, ambient, experimental
Length70:11
Label Astralwerks ASW 6181 (US)
Virgin CDV 2814 (UK)
Producer The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London chronology
ISDN
(1994)		Dead Cities
(1996)		 ISDN Show
(1997)
Singles from Dead Cities
  1. "My Kingdom"
    Released: 14 October 1996
  2. "We Have Explosive"
    Released: March 31, 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Alternative Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Muzik Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Pitchfork 8.0/10 [6]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Sputnikmusic4/5 [8]
Tom Hull – on the Web B [9]

Dead Cities is the third studio album by electronic music group The Future Sound of London released in 1996.

Contents

Overview

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. [10]

"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.

Track listing

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:

  1. "Herd Killing" – 2:37
  2. "Dead Cities" – 6:37
  3. "Her Face Forms in Summertime" – 5:38
  4. "We Have Explosive" – 6:19
  5. "Everyone in the World Is Doing Something Without Me" – 4:10
  6. "My Kingdom" – 5:47
  7. "Max" – 2:48
  8. "Antique Toy" – 5:43
  9. – 6:57
    • "Quagmire" – 5:13
    • "In a State of Permanent Abyss" – 1:44
  10. "Glass" – 5:38
  11. "Yage" – 7:32
  12. – 5:32
    • "Vit Drowning" – 4:48
    • "Through Your Gills I Breathe" – 0:44
  13. – 4:46
    • "First Death in the Family" – 2:18
    • silence – 1:00
    • "Dead Cities Reprise" (hidden track by Headstone Lane) – 1:28

Samples and other information

Charts

Album – UK Albums Chart

YearChartPosition
1996UK Albums Chart22

Singles – UK Singles Chart

YearSingleChartPosition
1996"My Kingdom"UK Singles Chart13
1997"We Have Explosive"UK Singles Chart12

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References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Dead Cities – The Future Sound of London". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Future Sound of London: Dead Cities". Alternative Press (101): 74. December 1996.
  3. ↑ Sacharow, Anya (22 November 1996). "Dead Cities". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Bennun, David (1 November 1996). "Hell out there". The Guardian .
  5. ↑ Howe, Rupert (November 1996). "Future Sound of London: Dead Cities (Virgin)" (PDF). Muzik (18): 128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Josephes, Jason (November 1996). "Future Sound of London: Dead Cities". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 15 January 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "The Future Sound of London: Dead Cities". Q (122): 122. November 1996.
  8. ↑ STAFF, Trey (2 November 2007). "The Future Sound of London - Dead Cities". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  9. ↑ Tom Hull, Hull (12 November 2023). "Grade List: Future Sound Of London". Tom Hull – on the Web . Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Future Sound of London – Welcome to the Galaxial Pharmaceutical v7". Secondthought.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "Release "We Have Explosive" by Semtex - MusicBrainz".
  12. ↑ "Future Sound of London". Archived from the original on 18 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
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