Maybe two heads aren't always better than one. Not if one of those heads belongs to M83's Alex Gonzales, anyway.

After the release of the French electro-rock outfit's stunning 2003 breakthrough Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, multi-instrumentalist Gonzales parted ways with musical partner Nicolas Fromageau. Left alone at the wheel, Gonzales could easily have veered into a cul de sac of self-indulgence. Instead, with sharp focus, he sets his controls for a new dimension -- and returns with a disc even more powerful and transporting than Dead Cities.

The grand keyboard layers and space-rock majesty that sparked comparisons to My Bloody Valentine, Air and Mogwai are still in effect on Before the Dawn Heals Us. But this time, Gonzales ups the ante with plenty of vocals and bombastic live drums, tweaking his sound closer to that of Spiritualized, Pink Floyd or sometimes Sonic Youth -- while simultaneously grounding his cinematic supernova epics with more traditional song structure and investing them with emotional warmth.

From the soaring Theremin rock of Don't Save us From the Flames to the ice-cloud ambience of I Guess I'm Floating to the horror-movie paranoia of Car Crash Terror! to the epiphanic climax of Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun, Before the Dawn Heals Us is an unforgettable journey to the heart of the sun -- and the centre of your mind.

Track Listing:

1. Moonchild
2. Don't save us from the flames
3. In the cold I'm standing
4. Farewell / Goodbye
5. Fields, shorelines and hunters
6. *
7. I guess I'm floating
8. Teen angst
9. Can't stop
10. Safe
11. Let men burn stars
12. Car chase terror!
13. Slight night shiver
14. A guitar and a heart
15. Lower your eyelids to die with the sun