4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
LCD Soundsystem is playing at my house, April 30, 2005
This review is from: Lcd Soundsystem (Audio CD)
Homages, hat-tips and disco-punk are the thing in LCD Soundsystem, brainchild of James Murphy. There's nothing here to get it nominated for "Best album of the year," but the self-titled dance album has both its good and bad sides -- the main disc is middling, while the second is marvelously weird.
The catchy, fuzzy single "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" kicks things off in a not-so-great note -- it's a fun song, but not one to listen to multiple times. From there on, LCD Soundsystem trips merrily off to swoony technoballads, ear-blistering electronic waves, and vaguely muffled yowls from Murphy, who sometimes sounds like he's being eaten by the drum set.
It's a tripwire-taut, catchy collection of melodies, with that slightly jerky edge that is currently in vogue with some top-selling indierock bands. Like those bands, LCD Soundsystem has some debts owed to Brian Eno, Wire, and the Fall. It's entertaining, but it's also not terribly memorable.
That changes with the second disc, which is a few tracks shorter but makes up for any lack of creativity in the first disc. Here the beats are less intense, the music is fringed with ambient sweeps, and everything feels more comfortable and looser. It's like wearing a broken-in sneaker, versus the new, stiff tennis shoes -- read, the first disc.
There are slow numbers, interspersed with wild beats and filtered vocals, and tightly-wound little dance numbers, as stripped-down as a dance-punk sound can be. It ends on a surprising note, with the chaotic-sounding "Tired" and two versions of the song "Yeah." The crass version is more openly dancey, while the pretentious version is trippy and dense.
It takes awhile for this dancey punky swippy electroclash to really catch on -- initially it sounds like the same ol', same ol', especially in the very overrated "Daft Punk..." song. How often can we hear Murphy ending lines with "... at my house... MY HOUSE!" before wanting to go back to ours? The music has some solid basslines, beats and vaguely retro sounds, but it isn't terribly memorable.
The first disc is too repetitive and dancey, as if made specifically for clubbing. Fortunately, it is saved by the bonus disc. This stuff is more creative, less dancey, and none of those six precious tracks is a dull one. They have stranger melodies, spoken lyrics, and even panpipes played in one song. Wild! Wicked!
LCD Soundsystem's debut album is a fun listen, mostly because of the second disc. The basic dancepunk songs are middling to annoying, but the weirder songs are bliss.
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