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 LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
While
it has already been said a number of times about James Murphy’s second
release as the LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver is the record that the
first disc of his eponymous debut should have been. LCD Soundsystem
felt more like a collection of songs than an album. Given that the
second disc was designed as a collection of songs - a collection that
included some of the best indie-dance tracks known to man - the album
disc inevitably looked bad in comparison. Sound of Silver doesn’t have
any of the handicaps that hamstrung the debut, and is all the better
for it. “Get Innocuous” is the misleading, self-deprecating title of
the album opener, which riffs on a drum pattern came straight outta
“Losing My Edge”.
Lead single “North
American Scum” is easily the album’s weakest track. While boisterous
and catchy, the song lacks the depth and subtlety that Murphy is known
for. The lyrics are especially shallow, treating anti-Americanism with
all the refinement of an International Socialist pamphlet. In a time
where this sort of sentiment is all too common, where pretty much
anyone will proffer his or her solution to the mess in Iraq, the song
seems dated. In 2004, it could have been an anthem. But in 2007, if you
want music with a political bent, you’d be better off sticking with
Neon Bible.
“Someone Great” – an instrumental version of which
featured on the LCD Soundsystem jogging mix – is like eavesdropping on
a Commodore 64 trying to make love to an electric typewriter. It’s
proof that LCD can write great songs which aren’t necessarily boof boof
disco-for-hipsters – though the album boasts some of the best boof boof
tracks that the label has ever released (and they’ve released a fair
few crackers in their relatively short existence.) “All My Friends”
runs along with such smooth, house-influenced keys that it’s easy to
miss one of the crucial differences with the debut: he’s actually
singing now. The characteristic Fall-drawl is still there, but this
time out Murphy isn’t afraid to give the vocals chords a good exercise.
Throughout the record, he manages to harmonise with himself, let off
some whoops and wahoos, and try out all range of effects. It’s not to
say that he has the best voice out there, but it adds another dimension
to the sonic smorgasbord.
“Us V Them” is the centre of the
album, utilising all the familiar LCD favourites – a bassline with
enough funk to power a small town, song progression without song
structure, call-and-response vocals, cowbell, cowbell, cowbell – and
producing something that still sounds unique with the oeuvre. With the
first LCD release, Murphy put the “I” back into irony, with his
hyper-conscious rantings doubling as pre-written reviews of the tracks.
“Watch the Tapes” continues with the rock-crit-as-song-lyrics motif,
running a skewer through the heart of blog-driven band hype. The irony
of this being that Sound of Silver has received near-universal approval
from said blogs, creating just the sort of appreciative carpet bombing
that the song rails against. Album closer “New York I Love You…” is a
piano-propelled ode to said city, which manages to both ape the Beatles
and plagiarise the Smashing Pumpkins. Only in America…
Following
on from strong showings by the Rapture and !!!, Sound of Silver proves
that dance-punk as a genre is anything but exhausted – it was just
catching it’s breath for a year or two.
Review by Ed Muzik
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