LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver

THE REVIEW

When I reached saturation from metal in the late '90s, I felt an irresistible urge for something new. I had really explored all the genres of metal… From hard rock to glam, from grunge to thrash. The first strands of hair were starting to fall out, and headbanging was giving me more and more problems! And then all the new bands of new-metal or crossover (except for Slipknot and System of a Down) honestly made me sick! But what could I dedicate myself to? The '80s dance music was nostalgia from middle school as beautiful as it was; I had already abused pop in the early years of high school, and it tasted like plain boiled rice when I strayed from the classics like Bowie or Duran Duran. So musically, what could I get into? I couldn't possibly keep blasting "Master of Puppets" at full volume in the car at 30, right? Damn, while all my friends were going to "Dance Valley," I was the only one wanting to go to "Monsters of Rock"! More than retro, I felt like a loser.
I had a revelation when I accidentally listened to "The Fat of the Land" by THE PRODIGY for the first time. Well… you couldn't really say that those sounds weren't appealing. And then they made you want to mosh at the end, right? Mmm… I decided to delve deeper… NIN? "The Downward Spiral"? Fucking brilliant. So electronics could be applied to metal with industrial! And as usual, Mike Patton had seen far. BLUVERTIGO, "Metallo non Metallo"; ah, okay, and even pop if you wanted. And then those bands always brought me back to the sounds of the only non-metal band I had always secretly cultivated (a bit hidden from my metalhead friends), DEPECHE MODE. Could it be that inside me, there was a hidden electronic soul? DAFT PUNK, "Homework." I was screwed! CHEMICAL BROTHERS, "Dig Your Own Hole"; it wasn't even 2000 yet, and I was already lost in electronics! And now? Help! What do I do? I continued. And in my journey through a genre I mistakenly thought was devoid of skill and technique, I discover a new band I like every day. TIGA, LADYTRON, PLANET FUNK, !!!, ROYKSOPP, my latest favorite discoveries.
As a layman of the genre, I stumble in the middle of the path of my life into LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. I remembered them mostly for their single from a few years ago, "Daft Punk is Playing in my House," nice with that ever-constant pumping bass. And what about the video? Even though the real masterpiece from their first album is, in my opinion, "Beat Connection," an almost progressive piece with a solid traditional fast-paced drumming underneath and bongos that rise to summon the electronics that emerge only after 2 minutes of pure tribal. I can't pin down this band to a defined genre, and that's already a good sign. There's a bit of "acid house," a pinch of "garage rock," a touch of "psychedelic pop," all in a '70s beat sauce. They're not bad at all. Mind you, I'm not writing to tell you that this "Sound of Silver" (March 2007) is an album that will make music history, but it's smooth all the way through. Your foot taps on the floor in every track and on the singles… you feel the urge to dance wildly! It fits in, no denying it. 9 tracks, just right to not go overboard. The intro "Get Innocuous" with a nice wall of electronic sound is excellent. After that, aside from the two "radio-friendly" "North America Scum" (score 7) and "Time To Get Away" (score 8, with a very James Brown-like vocal), almost all the other tracks exceed 7 minutes in length. "Someone Great" sounds like a piece written by Tiga, with many nods again to Daft Punk. Tracks 5 and 6 are acceptable fillers. You get the impression of being dropped into a '70s New York disco, with afro-DJs having 2000s sounds at their disposal. The funky guitar underneath many tracks slightly reminds one of the Arctic Monkeys, while the bass often echoes Daft Punk's classic loops, but everything seems intentional and well-planned. And then, lo and behold, a hint of punk in "Watch the tapes". Track 8 ventures into purest electronics (the classic "I studied Kraftwerk too") with great sounds and a superb bass underneath. The album closes with a slow serenade dedicated to the city of New York.

James Murphy (one of the founders of DFA Records) is a brilliant mind. A multi-instrumentalist, he completely sings and plays his LCD Soundsystem projects and then accompanies himself with excellent live musicians (the bassist is from !!!). The first album "Soundsystem" was certainly more innovative and creative. This one is more polished in details, less raw, less instinctive but more technical. I'm quite sure it will have less success than the previous one, but maybe personally, I almost like it more. It seems he wants to take the path of true exploration, leaving behind commercial pieces for big dance halls like in some tracks of the first. Overall very listenable, pleasant, and enjoyable. However, Murphy's potential seems somewhat constrained by always wanting to please both the clubbers and the rockers, without making a bold choice that might give him more "creative rage."