LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

When James Murphy first arrived onto the scene with LCD Soundsystem’s first single, ‘€œLosing My Edge,’€ he joked ‘€œI heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anyone.’€  Since then, this sentiment of mixing humor, wit, and loads of great music has been at the heart of Murphy’s records.   His latest and supposedly final LCD Soundsystem release, This Is Happening, finds Murphy pulling the best of disco, pop, post-punk, and indie rock out of his record bag and overseeing it all from a perspective that is half DJ, half singer/songwriter.  The result is a record that can be danced to, picked apart in headphone listening sessions, or chopped up and remixed into oblivion by studio nerds.  The only thing it can’t do is be ignored.

This Is Happening begins with “Dance Yrself Clean,” a nine minute epic of fat synthesizer notes, springy percussion, and shouted vocals.  “I miss the way the night comes with friends who make you feel good,” yearns Murphy, addressing the nostalgia that runs throughout the album.  First single “Drunk Girls” is a raucous, shout out loud rock song that finds Murphy flexing his punchline muscle with lyrics like  “Drunk girls find that love is an astronaut, it comes back but it’s never the same.”

Apart from “Drunk Girls,” This Is Happening is an album full of deep tracks, with “You Wanted A Hit” serving as Murphy’s testament against an industry obsessed with iTunes charts.  And even though the album’s nine tracks average over seven minutes a piece, they maintain a momentum that makes the album a rewarding, easy listen.  On top of that, Murphy’s production provides terrific punch and balance to the record, solidifying his position as a standout contemporary producer.

“All I Want” borrows liberally from David Bowie, a prominent influence of Murphy, but sounds like a fresh update more than a stale rip.  The groaning guitar riff forms a repititious hook that anchors the song, reminiscent of the keyboard flutter for “All My Friends” from Sound of Silver. “Pow Pow” is a dense torrent of stream of conciousness silliness (“We have a black president and you do not, so shut up.”) over swirling percussion and a funky groove.  “Home” closes the album, and LCD Soundsystem, on a bittersweet note.  “You might forget the song of a voice, still you should not forget the things that we laughed about,” muses Murphy, while the tick-tock percussion, abbreviated guitar bursts, and surging drums beg the listener to dance rather than mourn.

Over the course of three albums, LCD Soundsystem challenged what it meant to be a rock band, taught us you don’t need to be young to have a sense of urgent poignancy, and crafted some of the decade’s finest albums in the process.  I doubt this will be the last we hear from Murphy, but This Is Happening serves as a standout third act for LCD Soundsystem.

4.5/5