LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem (2005)
LCD Soundsystem - S/A Debut Album released February 18th 2005 - EMI Records February 18th 2005 marks the long awaited eponymous debut album release from LCD SOUNDSYSTEM; aka James Murphy; one half of the infamous New York production duo/label that is the DFA and creator of dancefloor anthems like 'Losing My Edge', Yeah', 'Beat Connection' , 'Give it up' and most recently 'Movement' to name but five. James was born in 1970, and raised in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, an overspill suburb that exists in the shadow of the famous Princeton Ivy League College, literally and otherwise. "There was no movie house, recreation centre or bowling alley, so kids just got wasted. By the time I left in 1988/89 it had transformed into a wildly more affluent American suburb. But the place just left me with a staggering inferiority complex." LCD SOUNDSYSTEM is his stunning debut spread across two discs. The first features nine new tracks, from the frenzied trance punk throb of recent single 'Movement' to the pulsing opener and second single 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House,' which sets the tone for an album that mixes James's trademark hook-laden punk/funk/house hootenannies with the kind of melodic ruminations that many won't be expecting. Indeed, the gently psychedelic and angelically sung 'Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up' - apart from being a title that many of us can relate to - is surprisingly reminiscent of White Album Beatles. 'Never As Tired...' is a little love song - or a little lack-of-love song, which might surprise some fans of the early LCD Soundsystem releases, but therein lies the importance of this record. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM is an album that transcends trends and moods without ever sounding derivative or contrived. Perhaps the album's most striking track is 'Disco Infiltrator', which comes over as a full-on Murphy manifesto. Plus we get a proper, old-fashioned, album closer, in the beguiling, optimistic, 'Great Release'. 'The last song on an album should erase an album enough so you can put it back on and listen to it again. The second disc contains 'Losing My Edge', 'Beat Connection', 'Give It Up', 'Tired', 'Yeah' (Crass & Pretentious versions) together on CD for the first time plus the newly added full length version of 'Yr City's A Sucker' - the latest recorded offering from Murphy which featured as a b-side to Movement, but is so good it has been added to the disc. It is a natural closer to the second CD and the album as a whole, resplendent with its HaHaHaHa refrain- a natural sardonic successor to the anthems it follows. LCD Soundsystem is, first and foremost, a dance-rock party album full of dirty sounds and nasty grooves. But, as you would expect from the composer of Losing My Edge, it's also got plenty of great lyrics, smart themes, sarcastic insults and good jokes. LCD Soundsystem is a slice of funky life that holds that intelligence is not something to be suspicious of, but aspired to. As long as it doesn't get in the way of throwing yourself around a dancefloor like a big, sweaty fool, of course? In the studio, LCD Soundsystem is just James and his multifarious musical, vocal and production skills. But, onstage, LCD Soundsystem is a quintet of similarly funk, punk and art-obsessed friends - featuring Pat Mahoney (drums); Nancy Whang (keyboards, vocals); Tyler Pope (bass - also of !!! And Outhud); and Phil Mossman (guitar, percussion, keys, bass - ex-Sabres Of Paradise) - all striving to make you dance while challenging the tired rules and predictable poses of live rock. As James explains, 'LCD is like a laboratory for experiments on what a band should be.' LCD Soundsystem will return to the UK in early 2005 for a series of their trademark explosive live shows.