I accidentally learned about LCD Soundsystem about 7 years ago. In my late night internet music longings I was searching a now defunct music service for the yet unreleased Rapture album, “Echoes”. In that search I looked for “DFA” the relatively new label producing/releasing the record, and came across the LCD Soundsystem 12″, “Give It Up”. That lead to the infamous “Losing My Edge” single, and I was hooked. In 2004 I had my “I Was There” moment when I ditched the Pixies reunion at Coachella 2004 to catch the LCD Soundsystem set. Of the ~50,000 people at the festival that day, ~150 saw that set. Seven songs, Forty-Five minutes, I’ll never forget it, one of the best sets I’ve ever heard. And that brings us to the new record.
This is Happening is the bands third album, but it still feels like an extension of the first. That’s because each album is such an amalgam of different styles and influences it looses its cohesiveness as an album. These remind me more of the first three Brian Eno albums, explorations of different ideas, with amazing songs that overshadow the album as a whole. “Dance Yrself Clean” is the opening track to the album. In its nine minutes, its an album in of itself. The beginning is a stoic ode to expectation and anticipation. The middle busts open an overpowered exclamation. The last third desperately -almost sloppily- pulls the exclamation back into tow and closes out with a whimper. I’ve heard many an album with less buildup and enjoyable moment than this single song.
This is Happening comes out May 17th on DFA Records
FYI: I’ll be twittering all of the Coachella Music Festival, look here: http://www.twitter.com/patrickschwer
LCD Soundsystem: “Dance Yrslf Clean”