#395 - LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)

MUSIC HISTORY WRITTEN BY HEAD WRITER DJ MORTY COYLE:

Released on March 12th of 2007 on DFA, Capitol, and EMI Records and produced by The DFA this is the second album by the Brooklyn, New York Dance, Punk, Indie, Alternative, Electronic, Rock band.

New Jersey-native, multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter/DJ/producer/engineer James Murphy had been playing in Punk Rock bands straight out of high school.

After dropping out of NYU as an English major Murphy continued playing around while also engineering and producing in New York.
He was also djing under the militaristic name Death From Above.

He soon became the live sound engineer for Post-Hardcore synthesizer group Six Finger Satellite.
While with them he also gave his signature, powerfully loud, speaker set up the nickname Death from Above.

But after 9/11 he changed it to the acronym DFA.

While working on fellow DJ David Holmes’ record Murphy met British recording artist and producer, Tim Goldsworthy, formerly of the Trip Hop band UNKLE.

Around that time Murphy tried Ecstasy and the experience opened him up to the enjoyment and pleasure of uninhibited dancing to whatever music moved him.

Murphy and Goldsworthy began DJing their unique mix of dance music together throwing parties around the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Then Murphy and Goldsworthy became a production team called… you guessed it… The DFA and with manager Jonathan Galkin they founded their record label called... wait for it... DFA.

They found some success producing and releasing music by bands like Hot Chip and The Rapture by helping them construct a hybrid of Punk and House music.

However after The Rapture’s DFA-produced debut got successful they left for a major label deal which made Murphy feel betrayed. At about the same time his parents died and he inherited a bunch of money.

So in 2001 feeling driven by his resentments and with nothing to lose Murphy formed LCD Soundsystem around himself on most instruments with help from vocalist/keyboardist Nancy Whang and some other musicians.

Murphy’s inspirations included David Bowie, Brian Eno, the Velvet Underground, Yes, newer Electronic music like Daft Punk, Early Krautrock like Can, ’80s New York No Wave like Liquid Liquid, ‘70s New Wave like Talking Heads and the B-52’s, Post-Punk like The Fall, and Goth like Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The DFA produced LCD Soundsystem’s first critically acclaimed Dance-Punk, 12” single, 2002’s extemporaneous, bitingly humorous, Hipster-than-thou, anthem “Losing My Edge” that rebelled against the younger DJs who were biting Murphy’s deeply diverse musical taste.

He wrote it when he was 32 and already feeling like a relic in his scene. This insight into finding and reconsidering his place in the world informs much of the band’s material.

Now James had originally done “Losing My Edge” as sort of a novelty song and hadn’t intended to be a lead singer or expected the band to become so popular.
He had sung and played guitar when he was younger but he wasn’t as into it and preferred to write, play drums, and produce.
His discomfort at recording his lead vocals and then singing onstage drove him into a heavy, black out, whisky-drinking phase.

The band added drummer Patrick Mahoney, guitarist Tyler Pope from Electronic band !!!, and several more contributing musicians and released a few more singles and then their debut album.

They built more underground and mainstream popularity and critical acclaim, and started appearing on worldwide dance charts.

In 2006 after creating the Nike-commissioned, digitally-released, long form song “45:33” as a soundtrack to a jogging workout Murphy was ready for their second album.

Like their debut they recorded this follow up at Long View Farm Studios in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.

Feeling that the Farm made the first album sound too “woody” and to infuse this album’s sessions with the ’70s Glam Rock vibe he was going for Murphy covered the studio with silver fabric and aluminum foil.

Building on the self-awareness and tongue in cheek Electro-Dance-Punk of their first album the new songs would be even more personal, wistful, nostalgic, witty, and thoughtful.

There was also a lot of loss and regret Murphy carried going into recording to the point where he admitted feeling suicidal for the first half.

And that realness struck a chord because “Sound of Silver” and several of its singles were at the top or near it on best of lists for that year and later for the whole decade.

They also earned another Grammy nomination for “Best Electronic/Dance Album.”
Murphy would lead the band through one more record before breaking them up after a marathon four-hour concert at Madison Square Garden in 2011.
The 48 hours leading up to the event was released as a film called, “Shut Up and Play the Hits” in 2012.

Murphy stayed busy producing Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor”, scoring two Noah Baumbach films, acting, putting out his own brand of coffee, and opening a wine bar and restaurant.

After working with David Bowie on his final album, “Blackstar” Bowie encouraged him to reconvene the band.
After one Christmas-themed single at the end of 2015 LCD Soundsystem confirmed their reunion a couple weeks later when they announced they’d be headlining Coachella in 2016 and putting out a new album.

They also headlined Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and several other festivals that year and played a handful of shows before pushing the release of their new album to 2017.

However “Sound of Silver” is still considered LCD Soundsystem’s best and most critically beloved record.