LCD Soundsystem, ‘Sound of Silver’
By user • Apr 3rd, 2007 • Category: Album Reviews
The brilliance of the full-length debut of James Murphy (aka LCD Soundstystem) is that it sounds like a product of the most complete and intriguing record collection on Earth.
The producer-turned-frontman’s 2005 release compiled the hipster’s taste into a Krautrock/indie rock/post-punk/techno/club collective.
It was jagged. It was edgy. At times it was goofy. And it touched on every genre in his vinyl home library, and named -ropped them all along the way.
But this sophomore album tones down the musical jet-setting and streamlines the artist’s taste into a hybrid of those likings. Instead of sounding like a beginner’s guide to appreciating Murphy’s favorites, it pushes his developed sense of pop music to the forefront. Whereas before he sounded like a guy from punk’s underbelly that stumbled onto rock ‘n’ roll’s club formula for fun dance music, “Sound of Silver” reveals him to be a genuine songwriter.
The producer-extraordinaire no longer sounds like he’s cutting and pasting snips from moments of his musical upbringing; he fleshes such moment out out by blending them together. There are still distinct elements from each genre – the lo-fi, Velvet Underground sound of “New York I Love You,” the new-wave feel of “Watch The Tapes” – but they never feel displaced from the other songs on the record.
The more Murphy distances himself from his influences – or rather, the less often that he includes their samples and mentions them by name – the greater the comparisons to their talent will be, and not just literally to their music. And for an aging record collector, that might be the greatest compliment.
Northern Star, April 3, 2007
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