Album of the Month

The album I’d like to recommend is DSVII (Digital Shades Volume 2) by French electronic rock group, M83.

DSVII was inspired, as M83 cofounder Anthony Gonzalez put it, by the “simple and imperfect,” as well as “naive and touching” nature of old school 1980s videogames, and the soundtracks of sci-fi and fantasy films of that time. The album is primarily instrumental, with occasional wordless vocals that serve to build an atmosphere that is relaxingly nostalgic and woven throughout with a bittersweet melancholy that feels right out of a Don Bluth film. The tracks work together to tell a story whose details are only ever obliquely explored through their titles, and themes only felt through the music’s emotive evocations. The first track, Hell Riders, opens with a slow rising drone that suggests a sun rising over a vast, barren realm. It continues for over two minutes, emphasizing the desert’s hostile loneliness. The guitar that finally breaks the tension paints an image of the eponymous riders, cutting through the sun’s deadly glare with a steady, if weary resolve. We follow them to the relief of home (A Bit of Sweetness), where one Captain Lee departs on a mission of their own (Goodbye Captain Lee) for the rest of the album. Truly one of the best ways to experience this album is through the engagement of trying to interpret what events are hinted at through our limited vantage. Why is Captain Lee leaving? What are the colonies referred to by track four? What does the instrumentation tell us about life inside those colonies? Who are the friends Lee meets along the way in track five?

Even if you’re not interested in pursuing the liminal narrative, this album still shines as a relaxing meditative pool that you can let yourself sink into whether you’re working or enjoying a hobby. Gonzalez’s gentle craftsmanship using exclusively analog equipment impressively layers on varied strata from light tenderness to crushing weight that never fails to inspire me.