The Future Sound of London / Dead Cities
Artist The Future Sound of London
Album Title: Dead Cities
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Electronica/Dance: Ambient Electronica
Format CD
Released 10/29/1996
Label Astralwerks/Virgin Records Ltd.
Catalog No ASW 6181
Bar Code No 0 17046 61812 0
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
1. Herd Killing (2:36)
2. Dead Cities (6:36)
3. Her Face Forms In Summertime (5:39)
4. We Have Explosive (6:19)
5. Everyone In The World Is Doing Something Without Me (4:10)
6. My Kingdom (5:46)
7. Max (2:50)
8. Antique Toy (5:43)
9. Quagmire / In A State Of Permanent Abyss (6:58)
10. Glass (5:38)
11. Yage (7:32)
12. Vit Drowning / Through Your Gills I Breathe (5:32)
13. First Death in the Family / Headstone Lane - Dead Cities Reprise (4:48)
Date Acquired 12/01/2000
Personal Rating
Acquired from Streetlight Records (Santa Cruz, CA)
Purchase Price 15.00

Web Links

All Music Guide Entry:
Discogs Entry:
Bandcamp entry:
MusicBrainz entry:
Wikipedia Entry:

Notes

Notes:
Recorded at Earthbeat Studios, London, 1996.

The credits on the CD are misleading as to what the actual track list is, the back cover of the CD shows 15 tracks, the CD itself has 13 tracks. Two of the tracks are actually two songs in one. The last track has a hidden track after it titled "Dead Cities Reprise" and it starts at around 3:17 after 0:59 seconds of silence and is credited to Headstone Lane (Simon Wells). The total running time of track 9 is 6:57, of track 12 is 5:32 and of track 13 is 4:45.

The track listing listed here is as shown on a promo copy of the album.

℗ 1996 Virgin Records Ltd.
© 1996 Astralwerks/Caroline

Packaging:
Standard jewel case.
Front insert: 12-page stapled booklet, color print exterior and interior.
Back insert: color print exterior, no print interior.
Disc tray: gray.
CD: CMYK print.

Credits:
Artwork [Choked Up/Sunshine And Brick Image] – Riphead
Artwork [Choked Up/Sunshine And Brick Text] – Cobain
Artwork [Dead Cities City Ruins Photography] – Riphead
Artwork [Dead Cities Human Computer Manipulation] – B Dougans
Artwork [Dead Cities Overall Image Construction] – Cobain
Artwork [Liquide/Dead Cities Logo] – B Dougans
Artwork [Praying Hands/Ecuador/Dead Cities Graffiti/Eggs] – Buggy G. Riphead
Artwork [Spike And Dome/Old Woman/Herd Killing Art] – Riphead
Artwork [Spike And Dome/Old Woman/Herd Killing Concept] – Riphead, Electronic Brain Violence
Artwork [Spike Modelling] – Olaf Wendt
Engineer – Yage
Photography By [Dead Cities Human Photography] – Andrea Giacobbe
Producer – The Future Sound Of London
Written-By – The Future Sound Of London

Companies, etc.:
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Virgin Records Ltd.
Copyright © – Astralwerks
Copyright © – Caroline Records
Published By – Sony Music Publishing
Glass Mastered At – EMI MFG.
Recorded At – Earthbeat Studios
Recorded At – The Womb, London

Barcode and other Identifiers:
Barcode (Text): 0 17046 61812 0
Barcode (Scanned): 017046618120
Matrix / Runout: MASTERED BY EMI MFG. ASW06181 1-1-2
Matrix / Runout (Variants 4, 5): MASTERED BY EMI MFG. ASW06181 1-1-4
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L043
Mould SID Code: ifpi 1638


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed Folder: The Future Sound of London - Dead Cities_dr.txt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR         Peak          RMS      Filename          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR12   -0.33 dB   -14.17 dB  01 - Herd Killing.flac    
DR10   -0.15 dB   -12.82 dB  02 - Dead Cities.flac    
DR11   -1.00 dB   -15.45 dB  03 - Her Face Forms in Summertime.flac
DR12   -0.09 dB   -14.00 dB  04 - We Have Explosive.flac  
DR12   -0.18 dB   -15.98 dB  05 - Everyone in the World Is Doing Something Without Me.flac
DR13   -0.17 dB   -15.33 dB  06 - My Kingdom.flac      
DR13   -0.15 dB   -16.70 dB  07 - Max.flac        
DR12   -0.92 dB   -15.55 dB  08 - Antique Toy.flac    
DR12   -0.13 dB   -15.46 dB  09 - Quagmire-In a State of Permanent Abyss.flac
DR14   -0.17 dB   -18.07 dB  10 - Glass.flac      
DR10   -0.17 dB   -12.80 dB  11 - Yage.flac        
DR13   -0.17 dB   -16.79 dB  12 - Vit Drowning-Through Your Gills I Breathe.flac
DR15   -0.17 dB   -18.12 dB  13 - First Death in the Family - Dead Cities Reprise.flac
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Files: 13
Official DR Value: DR12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reviews
All Music Guide Review by Ned Raggett:

Dead Cities turned out to be the Future Sound of London's bow out from the spotlight -- at least, nothing further was released by them for the rest of the decade and well into the next one. Compared to the crisp approach of Accelerator and Lifeforms' disorienting, surprising exploration into ambient sound, Dead Cities finds the group trying out something new yet again. The theme of the album, thoroughly explored in the art (as always, created by the group itself), seems to be one of futuristic urban decay, almost as if reacting against the perceived otherwordliness of Lifeforms, calmer moments like the acoustic guitar shimmer of "Her Face Forms in Summertime" aside. Hints of cyberpunk fetishism and atmospheres are everywhere, combined with a generally darker sound track for track and more upfront beats on a number of songs. "My Kingdom," a spooky choice for the initial single, blends in low-pitched drones with the echoing shuffle of the main rhythm, suggesting a Japanese city set somewhere in the outback after all the world's power finally ran out. As a further touch, the overall Blade Runner feeling of Dead Cities is heightened even more via the sampling of Mary Hopkin's haunting, wordless vocals from that film's soundtrack. The collage approach that has served the band well over the years recurs time and again -- snippets from unreleased spoken word performances and reworked orchestrations float up and down in the mix, feeling like an unusual sonic tour. That said, two of the strongest moments on Dead Cities -- the amazing single "We Have Explosive" and its semi-remix "Herd Killing," which starts the album -- come from the same source, namely Run-DMC. The brutal guitar stab and accompanying wah-wah and shout, which define both tracks, come from the Tougher Than Leather album, here reshuffled into a brusque, memorable punch with a killer, buzzing bassline.
Cover 1
Cover 2
Cover 3
Cover 4
Cover 5
Cover 6
Cover 7
Cover 8
Cover 9