Currently enjoying “Dead Cities” by the Future Sound of London

Out of the many, many records that the duo who call themselves the Future Sound of London have released under various names over the years, 1996′s Dead Cities is undoubtedly one of the most notable. Released during the rise of nineties electronica, whatever that was, Dead Cities was a remarkably atmospheric and sharply produced record, as heavy during its first half as it was broad and expansive throughout its second.

Driven by the aptly named “We Have Explosive,” the duo’s most successful single, Dead Cities must have seemed like a surprisingly and possibly even disappointingly ambient record to some. There are little to no tracks that match the heavy uptempo feel of the single – and those that do, like the opening track “Herd Killing,” are mainly remixes and alternate takes on the same theme.

But anyone drawn to “We Have Explosive” by its rich production and arrangement surely found a lot to like in the rest of the album, from the agitated beats of the title track to the lighter expanses of tracks like “Quagmire,” “Glass,” and pretty much everything else that follows.

The Future Sound of London haven’t really enjoyed the lasting popularity of some of their electronica peers, and it’s probably because the bulk of their output was too light for the dance floor on the one hand, and too experimental for the trip hop genre on the other. But they made some great music in their day, and you’ll find a lot of it on Dead Cities.

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