Play This at Your House, Your House
If the debut album from LCD Soundsystem was buckshot spray from a shotgun, Sound of Silver is a laser-guided missile. James Murphy, encouraged by the wild success of the band’s Grammy-nominated eponymous release (much less damning to a streetwise fan than an actual winner), reformulated their recipe according to what we liked best and has delivered nine tracks that can lay waste to any hipster house party.Sound of Silver manages to satisfy both the party people who came to get and the electro obscuro fetishists who quietly mock them from across the room. All of the analog DFA low-fi vogue is there, frenetically pushed along by Clash-hearkening rhythms, meaty bass strums, and just the right amount of synthesized spice. This time around, the first album’s raison d’être of radio-friendly funk nuggets has given way to a study of the slow-building and always worthwhile groove, making for a most satisfying listen from start to finish.
“Get Innocuous” plots the journey with constant percolating bass stabs, eerily treated vocal musings, and a progressive buildup that stays within conservative boundaries while portending to what lies ahead. Tracks like “Time to Get Away” and elected single “North American Scum” were built for unbridled dance floor mayhem. The curiously charming “Someone Great” lowers the tempo for a moment of content reflection before “All My Friends” drops the disco ball over our heads once again.
What LCD Soundsystem’s debut may have occasionally lacked in cohesion and story, Sound of Silver masters. In a music landscape overflowing with the new sound of electronic funk, LCD prove they are no one-Grammy nomination wonder and will continue to earn your affection.
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