REVIEW: This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem

When the opening track ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ kicks in - and it takes its time getting there - the sheer energy of it has me torn between warning first-time listeners and not wanting to ruin the impact. Speaking from experience, beware of listening while driving. The album veers mid-way into electro-balladry, with tracks such as ‘All I Want’ and ‘Home’, which while not without their charm, feels rather like they were written to imbue the album with some real-life emotion. While This Is Happening is another quality collection of what has been termed “disco-punk”, it does start to feel very familiar. For an artist such as Murphy, who has set himself at the forefront of the genre by making a largely derivative style sound fresh and original, it’s somewhat disappointing. The problem by now is that we know what we’re getting. So while we are given exactly what we expect, and to the usually high standard; there are few surprises. If the rumours that this is LCD Soundsystem’s last outing are true, it comes as no shock.  It is, however, a testament to Murphy that I can’t wait to find out what he does next.

Samuel Brown