M83 @ O2 Academy Oxford (From Oxford Mail)

M83 @ O2 Academy Oxford

in Music Reviews By Joshua Noble

THE title of M83's sixth album 'Hurry Up We're Dreaming' seems an appropriate way to describe their show at the 02 Academy.

If you're new to the band, or only know of them as the guys who did the 'Made in Chelsea' theme tune, you could be forgiven for imagining that I thought they had lulled me to sleep and I couldn’t wait for it to finish.

However, if you've been a fan of the French electronic-dream pop group for as long as I have, you will exactly know what I am talking about.

Anthony Gonzalez entered the stage wearing a mask, and the stage was drowned in purple lighting.

With each song came a crescendo of noise and light that would have given an epileptic nightmares.

They opened with the track 'Intro', the booming synths immediately setting the deafening tone for the rest of the night.

Prior to the show I had questioned how the band's complex electronic sound would translate into a live show.

The result was the audience delving into a melee of eccentric and rather questionable dance moves which wouldn't have been out of place at an 80's roller disco.

Karo Parisyan's sax solo in 'Midnight City' illustrated the band's ability to transcend the term 'genre', by combining new wave and jazz. It's one of the reasons I have really taken to this band.

Indeed I often wonder why I actually have legs considering they lose their purpose when I dance.

But, any group to get them going, as M83 did, is surely onto something.

If you, like me, suffer from this debilitating dance condition, go and see this band.

It’s great therapy. Honest!