LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

3...according to our Clinton on Thu 13 May, 2010.

Here we have the new LCD Soundsystem album. One of those bands that sounds so great from how people describe it and then once you hear it yourself you feel kind of let down. This album starts out quite quiet with whiny vocals and indistinct electronics before a big fat squelchy synth comes in and the whole thing rises up to a new level. The vocals are very Talking Heads. The second track 'Drunk Girls' shows what Murphy is good at - pastiche. An almost note perfect Roxy Music, Brian Eno (in pop mode) glam stomper before giving way to the industrial funk of 'One Touch' on here the production is great with brilliant propulsive rhythms. It plays very safe with melody though and the chorus isn't really what the song needs to become an instant classic. Track 4 recalls Bowie's 'Heroes', almost ridiculously so. It is very good but like a lot of Murphy's work shamelessly derivative. Overall I get the impression that this is a strong (final?) album from LCD Soundsystem that delves further into straight ahead pop than their other records and borrows hugely from the interesting end of 70's glam pop.

The above were recorded at The Manshun in Los Angeles and the DFA studios in New York and mixed at DFA from April 2009 through February 2010. TBD was written and produced by James Murphy. Additional mixes were done by Dave Sardy as indicated (*).

The new album is LCD Soundsystem’s first full offering of new studio material since 2007’s Sound Of Silver, which was named best album of 2007 by The Guardian, Uncut and the Independent among others, and like its predecessor 2005’s LCD Soundsystem received a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Sound Of Silver also featured Uncut song of the year “North American Scum,” and “All My Friends,” ranked #4 by Time in its Best Songs of 2007 and named track of the year by Mojo. In 2008, LCD Soundsystem contributed the track “Big Ideas” to the soundtrack of the movie 21. The band has since released the 45:33: The Remixes EP and a cover of Alan Vega’s “Bye Bye Bayou,” issued to commemorate Record Store Day 2009 and earning LCD its fifth NME single of the week. The album will be preceded by the March 22nd release of the soundtrack to Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg, which features both composition’s from James Murphy’s original score for the film and the new LCD Soundsystem song “Oh You (Christmas Blues).”

Tracklisting:

1. Dance Yrself Clean
2. Drunk Girls
3. One Touch
4. All I Want
5. I Can Change
6. You Wanted A Hit
7. Pow Pow
8. Somebody's Calling Me
9. Home