LCD Soundsystem – 2010
★★★★★
Who are you? Who do you want to be?
On paper, it’s incredibly simple. This album has no right to be as good as it is. The instrumentals aren’t anything grand, or even really that complex. However, when put in the hands of LCD Soundsystem, fronted by James Murphy, beauty in the simplicity of it all becomes the crux of ‘This Is Happening.’
You can’t speak about this album track-by-track, it isn’t worth it. Every one of the songs here has it’s own life to it, and several songs feel like they could be Murphy’s magnum opus if not for competition with each other and numerous tracks on Sound of Silver. Put together, it’s the strongest product of LCD Soundsystem, weaved together through the various quirks of each song.
Dance Yrself Clean almost feels like a bear trap. It approaches softly and quietly, intentionally so, perhaps baiting you into turning up your volume. Suddenly, when you’re already a few minutes in, the song bursts to life, and with it the entire album. The tone is set, and it becomes incredibly apparent what you’re dealing with.
This Is Happening is incredibly energetic, it’s nothing without it. Every song has a kick to it, some more than others. Songs like ‘Drunk Girls’ and ‘Pow Pow’ stand out the most in that regard. The liveliness is infectious, surely to take you with it. James Murphy himself is such a fun vocalist that even without the instrumentals backing him, I’d probably still be sitting here writing this. He puts his soul into this album, his ideas, his insecurities, and his passions. He’s such a personable writer, and it’s because he’s living out his album. He writes catchy lines like the hooks to ‘I Can Change’ and ‘One Touch,’ but also generally memorable lines like on ‘Home.’
“No one opens up when you scream and shout, but it’s time to make a couple things clear!”
To circle back to my first point, this album finds beauty in its simplicity. It embraces insecurity, it embraces its quirks, and it relishes in all that comes with it. It’s an open door, you just have to walk through.
Favorite Track(s): Dance Yrself Clean, I Can Change, All I Want, Home
Written by Michéal Doran
Leave a comment