The Last Word: LCD Soundsystem Gets Innoculated With Praise
(Ed. note: What used to be Idolator’s Record-Review Revue is now The Last Word, a semi-regular feature in which we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the week’s biggest new-music reviews. This week’s entry is LCD Soundsystem’s just-released Sound Of Silver):
– “…But there’s also the tenderness of “Someone Great,” a detailed account of grieving over a dead friend. The keyboard line that starts this elegy throbs like a hard fact that can’t be reversed, and as Murphy sings about his regrets — that the sky weren’t so blue, that he will move on — other elements build, every one slightly abrasive, adding up to something beautiful. It’s a perfect metaphor for the off-kilter daze we call consciousness, carrying us through this cruel, wonderful life.” [LA Times, four stars] – “…When it’s all said and done, Murphy’s real legacy to dance music will be his production sense. He’s an analog obsessive with a general aversion to software, and Sound of Silver reflects that. Far removed from the compressed, trebly and overmastered paradigm that’s gripped electronic music in the last decade, Sound of Silver sounds deep, spacious and full-blooded. (Like, um, an old rock record.) It’s an absolute joy to listen to, for every possible reason, not the least of which is because, these days, those epiphanies feel like they’re coming fewer and farther between.” [Pitchfork, 9.2] – “…But somehow it all holds together as an album (the New Wave-y tunes “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” help), and by the end, ex-indie-rocker Murphy comes full circle, returning to his roots with the Pavement-meets-Morrissey comic lament “New York I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down.” [Rolling Stone, four stars]
