LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
DFA Records
As much as I (and apparently the Grammys) loved James and his LCD Soundsystem’s 2005 self-titled debut, its best part was the second disc of bonus tracks. James Murphy’s sophomore effort Sound of Silver seems to do its best to recreate the sound of that first album’s bonus disc, but with only moderate success. While at least seven of the nine tracks are instant dance-floor shakers, none of them exactly duplicate the synth squelches and bleep freak-outs of tracks like 2005’s “Beat Connection” or the “Crass Version” of “Yeah.” But Sound of Silver’s opener, “Get Innocuous,” begins with a beat almost identical to the 2005 bonus track “Losing My Edge” and develops into a very dense sound by the end unlike most of the relatively minimal “album” tracks from the first disc of the first album. Meanwhile, “All My Friends” begins with a totally jarring, Steve-Reich-like out-of-sync piano and bass line slowly phasing into sync with each other and finally (and unexpectedly) turning into a song very reminiscent of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes.” Yet regardless of its contradictions, no one will doubt Sound of Silver’s now-unmistakable LCD-Soundsystem-ness since it offers a healthy amount of that “more of the same” stuff needed to follow up that killer debut album (sans the electronic freak-outs, sadly) along with newfound suprises and subtleties that the first album only hinted at. Kudos to James and his giant beats.
LCD Soundsystem: http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com
