Listening to M83 is like being trapped in the end credit sequence of a John Hughes movie, all shamelessly bombastic 80’s synths and ethereal Beach House vocals underpinned with powerhouse drums straight out of Genesis. It’s a huge, immersive sound, and one that’s a perfect fit for St. Giles, a venue noted for its fabulous acoustics. It takes a while for the show to get going- the first twenty minutes had main man Anthony Gonzalez performing solo, his preferred style being slow-burning atmospheric layering of synths which, whilst interesting, lacked the kick of their poppier work. But once the band joined him, they bewitched all and sundry with the same musical intensity they showed at the Scala in October- Kim and Jessie, Skin Of The Night and We Own The Sky all sounding celestially epic reverberating around the vaunted arches of the venue. The coloured lights added a visual dimension lacking from their previous London show, and the setlist was welcomely tweaked- no Graveyard Girl, but they played a lot more from their previous albums. Shame that no-one started dancing for the fantastically raved-up closer Couleurs (apart from one guy who was swiftly pulled back down to the pews by his embarrassed girlfriend), but it was pretty special experience nonetheless.
(Photo: Littlepants (Flickr))
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