Sound Off | LCD Soundsystem dusts off old tricks, styles

For a long time I've been wondering what makes James Murphy—the mastermind and one-man-band behind LCD Soundsystem—so consistent. Over almost 10 years and two albums, Murphy has created and solidified his own brand of dance music, taking his influences from all the right bands and releasing the kind of slow building dance tracks that can be maddeningly hard to pull off. The consistency might have something to do with Murphy's experience; he's been doing the rock band thing, the DJ thing, and the remix thing since the early nineties. Or it could have something to do with Murphy's record collection, which apparently holds every good record ever (his words, not mine. See LCD's 2002 single "Losing My Edge"). Whatever the reason, Murphy just can't seem to release a bad record, even if he stubbornly sticks to his chosen palate of sounds and his perennial lyrical themes, as he does on the latest LCD Soundsytem album, This Is Happening.

It's that same palate of sounds—familiar to anyone who has heard LCD's first two albums—that thankfully reemerges on This Is Happening. Murphy crafts his songs piece by piece, adding layers upon layers until he feels like singing. They usually start slow, with a deep, pulsing synth riff. Then some more synths are eased in, the bass starts to poke its head out with maybe a tingly guitar line, and then the drums come in with a kit-clearing fill that gives way to some of the crispest hi-hats I've ever heard. The last element is Murphy's voice, a wry half-sung slur that seems to fit his beats so well you'd think its just another sound he created on an old casio.

The strangest thing about all of this is that Murphy has created some of the most interesting and thoughtful music of the past decade, dance music or otherwise, with what essentially is a borrowed bag of tricks. His keyboards reveal a man with a fetish for the '80s, his song structures lend a whole lot to disco, and his vocal delivery comes from a long line of indie-rock frontmen who make more out of sarcasm then they do out of actually singing. And those drums—those refrigerator fresh hi-hats and those unrelenting four-on-the-floor kick beats—were the staple of early post-punk bands. In spite of these obvious influences, Murphy never ceases to delight his listeners. Maybe he's just too brilliant a songwriter to misstep, or maybe he made a deal with the devil, but This Is Happening continues the legacy left by 2007's Sound of Silver and 2005's self titled record. In nine songs, most of which are well over six minutes, Murphy has once again proved his mastery of an oft-mishandled form.

Case in point: opener "Dance Yrself Clean." The first half of the song quietly adds synth layers until the drums break out with the piercing patter of the snare, as if they were waiting the whole time and just couldn't take it anymore. From there on out, Murphy keeps the momentum going, swapping various sounds in and out of the mix as his voice--slowly increasing in volume as the song progresses--goes on about his reoccurring themes--friendship, aging, etc. Its a classic LCD song in every sense; a nine minute grower reminiscent of Murphy's earliest singles.

But This Is Happening isn't all 10 minute electro jams. As on LCD's previous records, This Is Happening has one song under four minutes, specifically made to be a digestible single for the uninitiated. And that song is "Drunk Girls." the lightest, catchiest piece of pop music he's made since Sound of Silver's "North American Scum." As the title suggests, the song is mostly about drunk girls, but it's also an opportunity for Murphy to use his keen eye and his sharp wit to poke fun at the party scene he knows all too well. At times Murphy is in it just for the joke, as he is when he sings, "Drunk boys, we walk like pedestrians/ drunk girls wait an hour to pee." At other times though, Murphy drops lines of offhanded insight, with couplets such as, "drunk girls know that love is an astronaut/ it comes back but its never the same." The song itself is a jumpy, jittery homage to The Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat," with a buoyant and optimistic chorus in which Murphy sings, "Oh! Oh! Oh!/ I believe in waking up together."

This Is Happening is the record that Murphy needed to release, a surefire reminder that he hasn't even lost an inkling of his magic touch. It's a slower record than Sound of Silver, but a more complete set of songs than the self titled album, making it a nice addition to Murphy's slim discography. There have been rumors that this might be LCD's final album, and if this record wasn't as solid as it is, I would welcome that news with an air of approval. But This Is Happening proves that Murphy can do his thing, and do it damn well, for a very long time. And I'm hoping that he does continue, because the world could use some more LCD Soundsystem.

-—Martin Bergman '12 is a Jewish studies major writing a bi-weekly column on recently released albums.