Sound Of Silver

Performer: LCD Soundsystem
Engineer: Matthew Thornley; Ian Neill
Producer: DFA
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: LCD Soundsystem: Nancy Whang (vocals); Justin Chearno (guitar); Amy Kimball, Lorenza Ponce (violin); David Gold (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Morgan Wiley (piano); Tyler Pope (bass instrument); James Murphy (bass guitar); Pat Mahoney (drums); Marcus Lambkin, Eric Broucek (hand claps). James Murphy is well-known as half of the New York-based production duo DFA (who have lent their distinctive touch to songs from artists as diverse as Gorillaz, the Rapture, and N.E.R.D.). Aside from creating the modern template for indie dance music since the early 2000's, Murphy has been busy writing music under his solo moniker, LCD Soundsystem. His sophomore effort, SOUND OF SILVER, picks up where the debut left of, expanding an already diverse set of influences and honing the songwriting craft into a thematically cohesive whole. As wryly noted on LCD Soundsystem's debut 2002 single, "Losing My Edge," in the underground music arms race, aging hipsters are losing ground against young upstarts who are (perhaps) unaware of their own influences. And if influences are the stuff with which post-millennial musicians are made, Murphy has trumped us all. Touching on reference points ranging from disco, krautrock, Bowie, house, and post-punk, to singer-songwriter types, SOUND OF SILVER is a veritable catalog of left-field cool. Leading off with the slow-boil, hypnotic opener, "Get Innocuous"--which sounds a bit like a reprise of "Losing My Edge" crossed with Kraftwerk's "The Robots"--the album moves from dance-floor stormers to plaintive piano numbers without batting an eye. On "North American Scum," Murphy lampoons the often mistaken idea that LCD Soundsystem is a U.K. act; his nasal vocal echoing Jonathan Richman as he declares "for those of you who think we're from England--we're not." As humorously self-effacing as he is, SOUND OF SILVER also shows Murphy's growth as a songwriter. On the album's closer "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," he laments the passing of the old New York, "To the cops who are bored once they've run out of crime/New York you're perfect don't change a thing." It's a fitting tribute that holds up against the countless other great songs written about the Big Apple. Compared to the first LCD Soundsystem album, Sound of Silver is less silly, funnier, less messy, sleeker, less rowdy, more fun, less distanced, more touching. It is just as linked to James Murphy's record collection, with traces of post-punk, disco, Krautrock, and singer/songwriter schlubs, but the references are evidently harder to pin down; the number of names dropped in the reviews published before its release must triple the amount mentioned throughout "Losing My Edge." There's even some confusion as to which version of David Bowie is lurking around. One clearly evident aspect of the album is that Murphy has streamlined his sound. All the jagged frays have been removed, replaced by a slightly tidier approach that is more direct and packs more punch. Murphy comes across as a fully naturalized producer of dance music -- especially on "Get Innocuous!" -- as opposed to a product of '90s indie rock who has made a convincing switch-up. And yet, the album's best song is sad, should not be played in any club, and it at least matches the work of any active songwriter who has been praised. "Someone Great," a bittersweet pop song built on swelling synthesizers and a dual vocal-and-glockenspiel melody, could definitely be about a devastating breakup ("To tell the truth I saw it coming/The way you were breathing"), at least until "You're smaller than my wife imagined/Surprised you were human," which could mean the song either took a turn for the absurd or is about the death (and funeral) of a loved one. Either way, it is the most moving song Murphy has made, and it only helps further the notion that he should be considered a great songwriter, not simply a skilled musician with a few studio tricks and the occasional clever quip. The closer, "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," seals it: "New York, you're perfect, oh please don't change a thing/Your mild billionaire mayor's now convinced he's a king/And so the boring collect -- I mean all disrespect/In the neighborhood bars I'd once dreamt I would drink." If he keeps it up, he'll be writing songs for Pixar by 2020. ~ Andy Kellman

Rolling Stone (p.81) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]omehow it all holds together as an album, and by the end, ex-indie-rocker Murphy comes full circle, returning to his roots..." Rolling Stone (p.108) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "All over SOS, rhythms turn into hooks and hooks turn into beats, until there is no difference between the two." Spin (p.98) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "The scene-stealing 'North American Scum' creates tension with Murphy's observant verses, then releases it through wiggy choruses." Entertainment Weekly (p.60) - "While SILVER delivers terrific buzzy dance-space jams, it also contains wispy hints of New Order and Bowie." -- Grade: A- Q (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he rhythms here sound tighter and more intensely focused, Murphy's presence as a songwriter and frontman is a revelation." Alternative Press (p.194) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'Get Innocuous' opens the proceedings with an electro-groove that's mechanical and soulful..." The Wire (p.51) - "LCD have created a facsimile of a bygone pop ideal, and Pygmalion-like, invested it with a life of its own." The Wire (p.37) - Ranked #5 in The Wire's "Top Ten Records of the Year 2007 -- "LCD Soundsystem's second album built on their familiar propulsive funk blueprints, with a tip of the hat towards Kraftwerk-style electronic textures." Q (Magazine) (p.82) - Ranked #18 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "[S]hape-shifting punk-funk that never goes quite where you expect it to."

Led by producer and DFA records honcho James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem helped bring indie rock to the dancefloor. As the flagship band of the early-2000s dance-punk craze, LCD Soundsystem mixed a punk edge with classic disco and house grooves, creating energetic and indisputably fun dance music that appealed to a generous swath of the record-buying and club-going public.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25