21 April 2010
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
LCD Soundsystem have been one of those lucky few artists to benefit from effortless promotion to millions of football-fanatic teens through FIFA 06. Despite this, James Murphy's music has been a big deal to music listeners of all generations and sensibilities, incorporating the colourful elements of dance, punk and disco. The real music nerds among you will remember that 2007's 'Sound of Silver' was released to near universal acclaim, receiving a Grammy nomination as well as a rare 5 star review from 'The Guardian'. And to follow up such an album was always going to be challenging, but the long-awaited 'This Is Happening' makes a decent attempt.
In terms of sound and vision, Murphy pretty much picks up where he left off, though it's difficult to place the same grandeur on 'This Is Happening' as you would on previous albums. We still have the frantic rhythms, the adventurous build-ups and the upbeat narrative. The synth lines are as fresh and inviting as ever. However, there seems to be a few of songs where, ironically, nothing really interesting is happening: a failed attempt at minimalism in 'Somebody's Calling Me' being a obvious culprit. And this isn't just a blind stab at the entire lo-fi electronic genre; Murphy has been very effective with such tracks in the past - take 'Thrills' from their eponymous debut album, for example. 'I Can Change' and 'Pow Pow' seem to be other questionable tracks on 'This Is Happening'.
Aside from these few, the rest of the album is a formidable play. 'Dance Yrself Clean' starts the album off stylishly: it is a superb arrangement of eccentric, almost tribal, beats and airy synth lines, paced beautifully on and off for near 9 minutes. It is a shame that it is followed up by the first single, 'Drunk Girls'; it completely ruins the mood so delicately developed before. Not only that, but the song itself is, for lack of better words, annoying. Fortunately, the next couple of songs are stylistically similar to the opener. 'All I Want' is particularly pleasant; it's easy atmosphere somehow reminiscent of 90s britpop.
One aspect where Murphy sets himself apart from his contemporaries is the length of his compositions. It's seems that time is no issue for Murphy - reasonably assumed from the fact that 'You Wanted A Hit' clocks in at just over 9 minutes. The track itself is mid-paced conglomeration of Murphy's better vocals, his signature lead lines, and some very interesting electric noodling (around the 6 minute mark particularly). Despite it being a strength, on first listen the tracks can seem overly long. But, with subsequent listening helps one realise that the tracks aren't laboured at all.
Perhaps the most significant change is the relative shift of focus to the instrumentation rather than lyrics, as was the case with 'Sound of Silver' in particular. 'Dance Yrself Clean', 'One Touch' and 'You Wanted A Hit' all contain large instrumental sections. His longer, more musically-focused pieces are arguably his best - 'Get Innocuous' and 'Someone Great' representing examples from the past. This is not to undermine his vocal ability, though. It's just that with this effort, it doesn't shine as expected. 'Somebody's Calling Me' and 'Pow Pow', two tracks more lyrically focused, seem to be the sore points of the album and their consecutive track-listing have a synergistic negative effect unfortunately.
It is a shame that Murphy has suggested that "this [album] may be the last one" as there really is some very good material here. If there was ever a way to end an album, 'Home' would be it. It is one song on this album where Murphy's vocals are on top form. His creamy vocals combine beautifully with an elaborate feel-good backdrop. It is a somewhat apt end to his third album, encompassing the essence of what is and has been LCD Soundsystem. Despite its flaws, 'This Is Happening' is a step forward from his previous efforts, and I'm sure in some people's book may even be regarded as the best of three.
Listen now on Spotify
Moneeb
In terms of sound and vision, Murphy pretty much picks up where he left off, though it's difficult to place the same grandeur on 'This Is Happening' as you would on previous albums. We still have the frantic rhythms, the adventurous build-ups and the upbeat narrative. The synth lines are as fresh and inviting as ever. However, there seems to be a few of songs where, ironically, nothing really interesting is happening: a failed attempt at minimalism in 'Somebody's Calling Me' being a obvious culprit. And this isn't just a blind stab at the entire lo-fi electronic genre; Murphy has been very effective with such tracks in the past - take 'Thrills' from their eponymous debut album, for example. 'I Can Change' and 'Pow Pow' seem to be other questionable tracks on 'This Is Happening'.
Aside from these few, the rest of the album is a formidable play. 'Dance Yrself Clean' starts the album off stylishly: it is a superb arrangement of eccentric, almost tribal, beats and airy synth lines, paced beautifully on and off for near 9 minutes. It is a shame that it is followed up by the first single, 'Drunk Girls'; it completely ruins the mood so delicately developed before. Not only that, but the song itself is, for lack of better words, annoying. Fortunately, the next couple of songs are stylistically similar to the opener. 'All I Want' is particularly pleasant; it's easy atmosphere somehow reminiscent of 90s britpop.
One aspect where Murphy sets himself apart from his contemporaries is the length of his compositions. It's seems that time is no issue for Murphy - reasonably assumed from the fact that 'You Wanted A Hit' clocks in at just over 9 minutes. The track itself is mid-paced conglomeration of Murphy's better vocals, his signature lead lines, and some very interesting electric noodling (around the 6 minute mark particularly). Despite it being a strength, on first listen the tracks can seem overly long. But, with subsequent listening helps one realise that the tracks aren't laboured at all.
Perhaps the most significant change is the relative shift of focus to the instrumentation rather than lyrics, as was the case with 'Sound of Silver' in particular. 'Dance Yrself Clean', 'One Touch' and 'You Wanted A Hit' all contain large instrumental sections. His longer, more musically-focused pieces are arguably his best - 'Get Innocuous' and 'Someone Great' representing examples from the past. This is not to undermine his vocal ability, though. It's just that with this effort, it doesn't shine as expected. 'Somebody's Calling Me' and 'Pow Pow', two tracks more lyrically focused, seem to be the sore points of the album and their consecutive track-listing have a synergistic negative effect unfortunately.
It is a shame that Murphy has suggested that "this [album] may be the last one" as there really is some very good material here. If there was ever a way to end an album, 'Home' would be it. It is one song on this album where Murphy's vocals are on top form. His creamy vocals combine beautifully with an elaborate feel-good backdrop. It is a somewhat apt end to his third album, encompassing the essence of what is and has been LCD Soundsystem. Despite its flaws, 'This Is Happening' is a step forward from his previous efforts, and I'm sure in some people's book may even be regarded as the best of three.
Listen now on Spotify
Moneeb
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