LCD Soundsystem Album: “LCD Soundsystem [Digipak]”

This CD really makes me move. I love most the songs here, but my only problem is that I find myself changing songs in the middle because eight nine and eleven minutes for a repetetive dance punk song is way too long. The second disc with the DFA singles suffers the most from repetitive progression, but there are still some choice tracks. I fill they should release more of these with a radio edit, Daft Punk Playing at My House Radio edit is perfect example.

Overall I really really like these guys. I love James Murphy and his brainchild DFA, and The Rapture. He knows how to make and produce music that is both fun, intense, and smart with a dance rock edge. At times this CD can rock your socks off with great dance riffs, but once again, i very rarely can listen to evey song all the way through before switching it.

Best tracks: daft punk is playing at my house , Too Much Love, Movement, Disco Infiltrator, Give It Up, Tired, Yeah (Crass Version). Beat connection would almost be a classic but it wears itelf thin by the 5 minute mark. But for those who like their dance music throbbing and long, this will not bother them. Overall a very good album.

Special features. Enhanced content. Bonus CDs. It's becoming de rigeur to tack extra gubbins onto most every new release these days. And, while it's nice to feel like you're getting a bit of extra bang for your buck, you've really got to wonder: like, why bother? How many times are you really going to sit through the extended version of "Return of the King", the "making of" documentary and director's commentary on that special edition DVD you just splurged on, or the demos and B-sides CD that came with the remastered version of 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'? Answer: not much.

LCD Soundsystem's debut album, then, marks an interesting diversion in this morass of faux-bonus uselessness. Might this be the first instance in which a bonus CD has actually usurped the main feature to whose bosom it furtively clung? Whisper it, now: possibly.

It would, of course, be brutally unfair to damn LCD's effort with such faint praise: simply put, this is a pretty good album. The first four tracks, in particular, are - in their own respective ways - absolute stormers. The others, though less immediate, do kinda grow on you. But... Lordy! that second CD is fantastic. 'Losing My Edge' and 'Yeah' are two of the best singles to have been released so far this decade and, blah blah blah.

Anyway... 3 stars for the album, 5 for the bonus CD. What a warped world we live in.

First things first; following the motions of many other reviewers here, LCD Soundsystem earns big bonus points for including a second disc of earlier singles to accompany this 2005 debut album.

With that said, the new material is quality stuff in its own right. It's a mixed bag with some nice surprises, and its share of letdowns. "Daft Punk..." and "Great Release" aren't nearly half as good as they are made out to be. On the other hand, there are some supeb tracks on the first disc, most notably in my opinion, "Movement," "Never As Tired...," and "Disco Infiltrator."

I'm not entirely sure what genre to plunk LCD Soundsystem in with... I don't think there is really one appropriate genre actually. Some of the tracks sound like what is considered "house" music. I'm also unsure of what sounds something has to consist of to be granted that label, but I suppose this record partially fits the description. Then you have the track "Never As Tired," which brings to mind for me, an experimental Syd Barrett flavour. Certainly not "house."

The first disc on its own merits a 3-star-rating, but the singles disc kicks it up a notch. The entire disc is excellent material, all of which is mind-bending. "Beat Connection" and "Give It Up" are on opposite ends of the spectrum, the former being very drawn out with building, acidic beats; the latter being an all out assault, but both fitting into the mix seamlessly.

"Losing My Edge" is just an undeniably fantastic track. I am at a loss for words describing it... it just remains painfully good every time I listen to it. Both versions of "Yeah" could be the best pieces of music I've heard over the last five years. The Crass version reaches over nine minutes, and the Pretentious version almost stretches out to twelve. Yet they both hold your attention for the duration. "Yeah (Crass)" is definitely the more danceable version, and will be keeping heavy rotation among my current playlists.

Overall, the spotty first disc prevents this album from being a classic. But between the worthwhile stuff found there, plus the duration of the second disc, LCD Soundsystem is well worth the price of admission.

Review by Tyler Wagnon:

Dance music is an intricate and very eclectic genre of music that plays host to several sub genres and styles. There are dance punk bands, raver artists, simple electronica, etc. For the most part, dance music does little to nothing for me for several reasons. The main issue is with the repetitious beats that just thump thump thump with no point or purpose. However, when done right, you would be hard pressed to find a more rump shakin' infectious style of music.

That is where LCD Soundsystem comes in. Within this self-titled affair, LCD takes the listener on a (fantastic) voyage of funky basslines, infectious beats, and quirky vocal arrangements that will have you humming along for sure, if not shakin' that thang like you know you want to.

James Murphy, as part of the production duo DFA and main man behind LCD, shows that he can do more than twiddle behind the knobs. Vocally he covers ground between soft cooing and shouting with his always witty and insightful lyrics. More than a one-trick pony, Murphy takes the listener through simple two-step beats, disco chord progressions, and beats that are always danceable.

For a dance rock album, LCD Soundsystem has already gotten more plays in my stereo than most would stand a chance at. The beats are fairly repetitive, but the music and vocals make up for it with an eclectic, but fitting mix. Listen to this instead of The Faint please.

As co-founder of New York's painfully hip label DFA, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem specializes in fusing dance groove and punk attack. DFA's trademark sound made waves in 2002 with the Rapture's jagged "House of Jealous Lovers," which Murphy co-produced. Next came the first LCD single, "Losing My Edge," the hilarious lament of an aging hipster who feels eclipsed by youngsters with even more esoteric reference points.

Included here on a bonus CD that gathers three early singles, "Losing" sets the template for much of this debut full-length. Several of the best tunes are inspired by Murphy's love-hate relationship with music: his struggle between wanting to be cool and feeling the impulse is loathsome, between his attachment to rock's heritage and his urge to rip it up and start again. Out of these clashing emotions emerges a prime contender for Best Album of 2005.

Murphy weaves together sounds from the last 25 years of dance music, with a slant towards early-'80s mutant disco - spiky Gang of Four guitar, punkily funky bass - and recent house and hip-hop. "Too Much Love," a brilliantly eerie song about overdoing the party potions, pivots around a grating synth that whimpers like a burned-out brain, while "Thrills" rides an utterly contemporary groove inspired by Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak