Track Listing

1. Get Innocuous!
2. Time To Get Away
3. North American Scum
4. Someone Great
5. All My Friends
6. Us V Them
7. Watch The Tapes
8. Sound Of Silver
9. New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2238 in Music
• Released on: 2007-03-20
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Two years after LCD Soundsystem's eponymous full-length debut sent indie scenesters rushing to the dancefloor, the outfit headed by dance-rock producer James Murphy serves up another stiff cocktail of punk, dance, and funk with Sound of Silver. Analog synths, chugging basslines, chunky guitars, and Murphy's wild falsetto excursions are once again the foundation to which is added the new and strange, such as the heavily chorused voices that suggest backward-masking in the opener "Get Innocuous" and the captivating harmonics keyboardist Nancy Whang bounces off of Murphy's vocals on "Someone Great." If this album has its own version of "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House," it has to be "North American Scum," an infectious stormer that breezily dismisses Europe as a place where "the buildings are old and you might have lots of mimes." Such lines are good evidence that LCD's music would rather ridicule itself than fall into the kind of pretense and nostalgia it constantly lampoons. The album's title track reflects that hankering after one's teenage years is often interrupted when "you remember the feelings of a real live emotional teenager--then you think again," while the power ballad "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" wearily serenades the Big Apple as "still the one pool where I'd happily drown." True, LCD's music is not for everyone, which may have something to do with why their fans love them as they do. If you fall into the latter category, however, Silver is gold. --Brent Kallmer

Customer Reviews

Great from the start
I'm by no means an expert on how to appreciate music, but I must say I was really impressed with Sound of Silver's quality. There were a few songs that I enjoyed from LCD Soundsystems first release, but those took a bit of time for me to get into. Sound of Silver got me right from the start in a way I haven't experienced from a CD for some time. Normally I expect to have to give some time for a CD to grow on me, but this one didn't require any extra effort. Having said that, I know a few of the songs will not have a great deal of staying power in my "everyday playlist", but enough of them do that I would strongly recommend this CD. "Get Innocuous!", "North American Scum", and "All My Friends" all deserve the positive attention they've been given and I know I will continue to enjoy them for years to come.

Catchy but repetitive
Lots of great songs on this cd, especially the first four songs on the cd. The first song rocks. The third track, "North American Scum," will have you jumping up and down and chanting like an English football hooligan. And the forth song, "Someone Great," will bore its way into your subconscious like a mole. But while there are truly some catchy songs here, I have to admit sometimes it does get a bit too repetitive with the Casio-like keyboards and early 90s electronic effects, sounds I know far too well from a misspent youth. This is still worth getting, though.

Sound of Boredom
I like dance music, but this CD is just too repetitive. True, there are some cool sounds, but nothing I haven't heard before. In fact, this James Murphy character cribs plenty from other artists. I can't always put my finger on it, but much of what I hear on this album rings a bell of familiarity. For example, I hear some elements of Can (and Murphy doesn't hide his affection for that group either).

Having influences isn't in itself a problem; everyone has influences. But you have to build on those influences and take them in different directions for the music to be worthwhile. Everything on this record makes me think, "been there, done that." True, the songs do subtly evolve, but the repetitive elements are so prominent that they render the album monotonous. I much prefer dance music that has more to offer in the way of actual songs.