This Is Happening is the latest album from LCD Soundsystem, and finds James Murphy setting himself further apart from every other band out there walking the line between indie-rock and IDM. For me, the most interesting aspect of Murphy’s songs are not their explosive arrangements (though the way “Dance Yrself Clean” brings down the house just after the 3-minute mark might make me rethink that statement), but how he manages to inject so much gut-wrenching, heart-on-the-sleeve passion into a genre that often forgets that side of songwriting. Having only made myself familiar with a handful of their songs (“Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”, “Losing My Edge”) prior to 2007’s Sound of Silver, that album’s 1-2 punch of “Someone Great”/"All My Friends" was completely eye-opening for me - I don’t think I ever heard music that so many would classify as “dance” with so much heart. That aspect of Murphy’s songwriting continues to come through loud and clear on the new record. Though the smarter-than-you’d-think-but-still-kinda-ridiculous “Drunk Girls” was released as the first single, it’s “All I Want”, in all its “Heroes”-aping glory, that’s the most unforgettable song here - a tour-de-force homage to one of the most classic classic-rock songs in existence. Elsewhere, electric guitars fight with quirky, 80s synths for prime positions (usually to lose), and the clattering beats continuously make me shake it like a Polaroid picture, when no one's looking of course. The album’s not perfect - “Somebody’s Calling Me” plods and the first two and a half minutes could be cut from “You Wanted A Hit” without altering the song's impact - but, for the most part, Murphy nails it. Whether earnest, sobering, self-deprecating, or deadpan, this album shows an artist with the ability to write songs equally interested in your ass, your brain, and your heart.
Stream :: This Is Happening
Video :: Drunk Girls
(Buy here)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment