Is there such a thing as an electronic album that’s part disco and part punk rock? If not then I think there is now! LCD Soundsytem’s new album shifts gears from song to song, from the likes of punk to straight up electronic to Pink Floyd influenced tripped out ballads. But the album is glued together by producer James Murphy who fuses the songs together with a very familiar synth-pop aesthetic you might remember from most music that came out of the 80’s.
Being part 80’s throwback and part punk dance music is kind of hipster lingo for offbeat and cool but in the end, the album is very solid. With tracks you can listen to repeatedly, you can hear new things going on within each song with each listen as well as just dance and have a good time to, which is equally important to enjoy an album more than once.
The first song off LCD Soundsystem’s new album, “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” is a punk filled-dance track that is reminiscent of early Talking Heads with Murphy’s vocals driving the song and taking it beyond just another electronic track.
On, “Never As Tired as When I’m Waking Up,” you have Pink Floyd drenched lyrics and Beatle rhythm guitars as a backdrop to some splendidly vintage sounding song that seems like it was plucked from the master tapes of some long forgotten band.
The second CD included is filled with six songs that are equally as good and varied as those on the first CD. One standout track “tired” is a psychedelic guitar freakout with Murphy’s screaming vocals buried underneath guitars and tambourines, pounding the hell out of the song. The other songs are past singles, including, “Losing My Edge,” which was not only one of the first singles on the DFA label but helped launch LCD Soundsystem’s recording career.
Though James Murphy is the brain behind the music, live it’s his backup band that twists the dials and plays the instruments. Made up of a quintet of like-minded friends featuring Pat Mahoney (drums); Nancy Whang (keyboards, vocals); Tyler Pope (bass - also of !!! And Outhud); and Phil Mossman (guitar, percussion, keys, bass - ex-Sabres Of Paradise), LCD Soundsystem must be an insane show to see live that’s filled with a stage full of wires and computers generating the most danceable though insane driving sounds to ever come out of a computer! The album is filled with really well put together tracks that make this album a winner you can not only dance to in the club but also wreck shit to! |