94.

LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
(Capitol, 2007)

I don’t know what caused me to deny the merits of Sound of Silver for so long, but after giving in to its various charms late last year, the album has sounded better with every listen. Even now, while writing this blurb, I feel like I should bump it up a couple spots in the rankings. Sound of Silver makes me think that LCD Soundsystem is the proper successor to the legacy of the Talking Heads. People could probably argue with the similarities between the two, but for me it is an obvious and linear progression. The album just has a classic feel that tells me that I will be listening to and enjoying this album even on my death bed. And as one final bit of praise, when I saw LCD Soundsystem open for the Arcade Fire in support of this album, they absolutely owned the show and remain one of the best bands that I have experienced live.

-Thistle

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

GUEST REVIEW

LCD Soundsystems

Sound Of Silver

(03.2007, Capitol)

8.5/10

Whatever genre James Murphy’s music qualifies as, he has his finger directly on its pulse, and with precision he orchestrates beats, synths, and vocals that manage to loop and loop without becoming monotonous. And again on Sound of Silver, Murphy creates songs with more soul than dance music is used to. The album is book ended by two conflicting thoughts. At one end, the beats and reverb laden vocals of “Get Innocuous!” and on the other, the stripped down “New York, I Love You But... (But You’re Bringing Me Down.)” In “Get Innocuous!”, Murphy encourages us to become harmless? Really? No, it couldn’t be. And in “New York, I Love You” the true spirit of the conflict becomes apparent. Murphy laments that his precious New York has lost all its charm, having become “safer, and wasting [his] time.” So which is it? Or is it the conflict? Or does it really matter? To some it might, but to others the music will stand on its own. Either way, the Sound Of Silver is a lesson in the mathematical paradox of a whole being much more than the sum of its parts. Each part beginning with a simple beat or piano loop, and gradually unfolding and interweaving into something you didn’t really expect. The sum being an album full of wonderfully simple, yet intricate songs, that rarely if ever disappoint. The kind of album anyone should be able to produce with a laptop and some time. That is if you had your finger on the pulse of dance pop/rock. My guess is you don’t. As an aside, you want to know who else is quite a dance music aficionado, check out the 7+ minute album version of David Bowie’s classic “Lets Dance.”

-Spruce Lee