MUSIC

LCD Soundsystem’s first album since their so-called retirement is a dark and brooding culmination of the band’s sounds and influences over the years

LCD Soundsystem’s first album since retirement is a brooding culmination of the band’s sounds and influences.

In April 2011, Brooklyn dance-rock act LCD Soundsystem put on their last performance at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Dubbed “a farewell show” (attendees were even asked to dress in black and white as if for a funeral), the sold-out, one-night-only gig happened in the wake of the band’s retirement previously announced by frontman James Murphy who reasoned in one of the interviews that “It’s all just gotten bigger than I planned or wanted … I don’t want to be a famous person.” Those who were there or have seen the subsequent documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits would recall just how final everything was — that the group would actually cease to exist. There was also a five-LP box set The Long Goodbye released in commemoration of that same farewell show.

Then, five years later, LCD Soundsystem rose from their proverbial death, headlining last year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival alongside freshly reunited Guns N’ Roses. But unlike GnR, LCD’s return has turned out to be more than a run-of-the-mill reunion. Having now dropped their latest offering American Dream, it’s become clear that Murphy and Co merely took a break. The so-called retirement was simply a hiatus and, as one can imagine, a lot of people was left feeling deceived and betrayed.

Gripes aside, the record does contain a handful of tracks that serve as a reminder why LCD became a much-loved band in the first place. Opener Oh Baby starts off with some persistent ticking, seemingly echoing Murphy’s ever-present anxiety. Other Voices (feat Nancy Whang) serves up an erratic blend of bells, synths and other noises. “You’re just a baby now/ You’re just a baby now/You should be uncomfortable,” he sings, alluding to the conversation he had with David Bowie about putting the band back together.

Arriving with hi-hats and guitar screeches, Change Yr Mind finds him revisiting the theme of growing old: “I’ve just got nothing left to say/ I’m in no place to get it right … I’m just too old for it now/ At least that seems to be true.” Nine-minute-long How Do You Sleep? is both dark and epic with roaring tribal drums to the fore; Tonite is reminiscent of the tracks by UK indietronica quintet Hot Chip whereas politically bent Call the Police has the same driving, cathartic quality shared by some of their previous cuts including Dance Yrself Clean, All My Friends and Someone Great.

American Dream concludes with Emotional Haircut and Black Screen. The former is a rock-leaning number featuring a call-and-response refrain that vaguely brings to mind present-day The Killers. Set to sombre synths and spare piano, the latter is a stirring eulogy dedicated to Bowie. “My hands kept pushing down in my pockets/ I’m bad with people things, but I should have tried more,” he laments as the music continues for another five minutes before everything disappears once again.