LCD Soundsystem had the task of fulfilling rather unreasonable expectations on their third album due to 2007’s much lauded Sound of Silver. Murphy’s knowing grin can give the impression that he’s invincible. Surely someone with such deep understanding of the album as an art form wouldn’t allow any faulty ideas slip in and take over. Would his self-consciousness, up until this point a virtue, lead to boring stagnancy? And what of his announcement that this would be the last LCD Soundsystem album? Yeah, expectations can be a bitch.
Murphy has never been a stranger to Brian Eno-esque textures, and Sound of Silver contained more than traces (Eno’s work with Talking Heads as well as his own solo work spring to mind). On This is Happening, Murphy delves even deeper into those influences. Berlin-era Bowie is an obvious touch point for TiS, even more so than on SoS, most obviously on the brilliant “All I Want,” whose guitar leads and climactic build-up are direct decedents of Bowie’s own “Heroes.”
But the comparison to Bowie’s most adventurous period doesn’t end with the music itself. Much in the same way Bowie turned inward for his revered trilogy, Murphy’s lyrics take an introspective turn. The parallels are striking; compare the transformation Bowie made from Young Americans title track to “Be My Wife” off of Low and one sees clues to Murphy’s own movement from Sound of Silver’s “North American Scum” to the agonizing “I Can Change.” Granted, we still have Murphy’s typical, witty social observations in the form of “Drunk Girls” but even this is a much more personal take on the subject than, say, “Us V. Them.” For possibly the first time, he lets his guard down long enough to actually be vulnerable. Bowie always said that his DNA was in the Berlin Trilogy and This is Happening certainly has that same personal touch.
This is Happening is not for short attention spans (all but one track clocks in at over five minutes). But stick with this one. Maybe you’ll wonder like I did if the first three minutes of “Dance Yrself Clean” felt like an overly long practical joke designed to make you blow your speakers as its muted beats give way to an explosive chorus. But subsequent listens left me feeling that it was was an incredible use of dynamics.
The echoes of Murphy’s past are everywhere. The melody on “I Can Change” bares similarities to “All My Friends,” and the band still has that propulsive Kosmiche groove and Murphy’s banter is as clever as ever. This time around however, he focuses his attention primarily on crumbling relationships. Claiming that “one touch is never enough” and later pleading that he “could change if it helps you fall in love,” there is a desperate longing not merely for love but for love that actually works. Even when things start out light as on “Drunk Girls” and “Pow Pow,” confusion and dejection eventually creep in. This is Murphy at his most bitter and most human.
So this time around, things don’t seem quite so communal, but that’s the beauty of the album. It may not have the festival-ready vibe of Sound of Silver, but this is an exciting record I can see myself dancing to alone, in my room for years to come. This is Happening meets and possibly even exceeds all expectations; no small feat indeed.
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