Shit Hot: LCD Soundsystem

10 May 2010

by Nathan Jolly

At the secret showcase of This is Happening for industry and selected fans in New York, James Murphy got down on his knees and stated:

“If you got a copy of the record early and you feel like sharing it with the rest of the world, then please don’t ... We spent two years making this record and we want to put it out when we want to put it out. I don’t care about money – after it comes out, give it to whoever you want for free but until then, keep it to yourself.”

It’s a growing concern for artists in the digital age, when a record label leak or bootleg recording can seriously jeopardise both the promotional run and sales of an album. It’s the world that James Murphy chronicled in his 2002 breakthrough single Losing My Edge with its ironically paranoid barb: “I’m losing my edge to the Internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1962 to 1978.”

Fast forward to 2010 and as This is Happening proves, Murphy’s edge is sharper than ever. So it came as quite a surprise when the 40-year-old New Yorker announced last month that this album and their current world tour – they play Splendour in the Grass and sideshows in July – would be the last for LCD.

This Is Happening has already scored rave reviews weeks before its official release and first single - the pulsating party anthem Drunk Girls – is currently enjoying the most cross-over success LCD’s ever seen. triple j chose This is Happening as their coveted feature album last week and commercial radio has even jumped on board, with the NOVA network giving Drunk Girls some sizable spins around the country. Online, the track’s been burning up the blogosphere, fuelled in part by its crazy one-take video directed by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Jonze (who directed Where The Wild Things Are last year) and starring a gang of obnoxiously violent pandas.

But it’s important to note Drunk Girls is quite the anomaly on an album full of slow-burning songs, a number of which bypass the nine minute mark yet never seem to linger too long. Tracks such as Home and You Wanted A Hit are hallmarks of an artist who has mastered the medium, never mistaking length for pomposity. Dance Yourself Clean is a slow jam, the stylistic opposite of the first single Drunk Girls, and sure to be a favourite of more discerning listeners, who may have been alienated by the more commercial first single.

With this being the final album under the moniker (unless he’s using ‘final’ in the Farnham sense on a word ), there will be those who come to the party too late. It’s a shame, as this will become the release that defines LCD Soundsystem. An album for newcomers and fans alike.