In a music scene that is becoming more frequently populated with electronic-based acts that work to exploit the dubstep/Skrillex-led dance zeitgeist, many come off as pretentious and unoriginal. M83 has come close to becoming a caricature of what they wanted to become as a band; however, last year’s double album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming demonstrated a group, led by frontman Anthony Gonzalez, that not only has realized its potential and style but actively pushed the envelope of what they’re capable of and the emotional landscapes they’re able to explore. Rather than hit commercial success by essentially cashing in on a neon lights-infused, tank top-wearing and remix-driven hipster generation, M83 actually is making music that definitely appeals to that crowd while striving for something more, and that something more comes from their open desire to tap into the listener’s inner emotional realm with no agenda but to make beautiful music.
With albums like Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, it also becomes increasingly difficult to translate the record’s power to the stage without having to reconstruct and sacrifice many album-only elements for live constructions. The difference between M83 and a lot of their contemporaries, though, is that they’ve not only made a record that stands on its own as a fantastic listen, but a live show that is arguably way better than the album.
The main reason why M83’s live show works so well is that it relies on the ingenuity of human hands. While each member of the four-piece band relied often on keyboards, drum pads, synthesizers, laptops and various other technologies, they also each played real instruments– drums, bass and guitar. The synthesis of samples and their own instruments created a massive and rich sound, but essentially it allowed M83 to play both the rock band and the DJ, the loner and the cool kid, the live band and the studio band. It was fascinating to watch them weave in the live wails of the guitar, vigorous low-end of the bass and Loïs Maurin’s exquisitely timed and buyoant drumming.
The band has clearly gelled considerably since their first tour behind Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, which makes sense, but also points to the fact that they’ve really developed some on-stage chemistry. While they could have easily spend the eighty-minute set in their respective corners of the stage, playing along to the catharsis-driven electro-pop, they spent a lot of time interacting together, which culminated in a close-knit jam on the closer “Couleurs.” Gonzalez seemed genuinely excited to be sharing the stage with the three other musicians, and the few technical glitches also demonstrated a band that has tightened their show and worked out a lot of the kinks.
One thing, though, that M83 is going to have to reconcile in moving forward is how to be something other than the anthemic, end of the game victory band. Every song save one from the entire evening followed a fairly redundant compositional pattern that leaned mostly on the dynamic of build-and-release, and while this definitely works when you have 1,200 people crammed together in one space, with a dazzling light show, beautifully mixed sound and a band who is giving it their all, there was a point during the show where it seemed like M83 hadn’t yet discovered where the other side to dance music and human nature is: melancholy and loneliness. That is not to say that their next release has to be a concept record delving into a Portishead-laced unending blues, but there needs to be some balance, or else the highs don’t get to be quite as high. Take it from a band like Daft Punk (who M83 so adeptly covered), Sigur Rós or Mogwai– the negative space, or the parts where you let people breathe and sink inward again, allow the positive spaces to burst forth and mesmerize, and with some more thoughtful pacing and diversity of sound and tempo, the show could have been nothing short of superlative.
Even so, it’s hard to fault a group that is so devoted to providing a night that explores the realms of euphoria via electro/dance-gaze rock. Anthony Gonzalez and his incredible band played to M83’s main strengths and offered a show that fully engaged the audience and confirmed how powerful the synthesis of programmed and real instruments can be, especially in 2012’s musical landscape. It’ll be interesting to see what their next step is, but for now, it’s worth taking a deep breath and enjoying the ride, because it’s a damn good one to be on.
Setlist:
Intro
Teen Angst
Graveyard Girl
Reunion
Sitting
Year One, One UFO
We Own The Sky
Steve McQueen
Wait
Fall (Daft Punk cover)
This Bright Flash
Midnight City
A Guitar and A Heart
Encore:
Skin of the Night
Couleurs
