RATING: 3/5
If Arcade Fire and Muse had a baby in the 80s, her name would be American Dream; which just happens to be LCD Soundsystem latest Album. This album has a beautiful indie electronic rock sound that that gives one the feeling of slowly drifting through space in a dream like state. The Album slowly fades in with the chill song, “Oh Baby,” then climaxes with their amazing song, “American Dreaming,” and then fades out with their smooth 12-minute song, “Black Screen.” This Album is 68 minutes of good vibes with deep well thought out lyrics littered throughout.
The artists of this album put a lot thought and effort into their songs. They make the songs much longer compared to the typical song heard on the radio. The shortest song, “Change Yr Mind,” is 4:57, while their longest song, “Black Screen,” is a whopping 12:05. In my opinion, when artists take the time to make their songs longer, they can better develop the music and message that they are trying to get across. I think that could definitely be said about the highlights of this album: “Oh Baby,” “Tonite,” “Call the Police,” “American Dreaming,” and “Black Screen.”
“Call the Police,” is an instant classic that is about trying to resist the craziness of love and make due with our dystopian reality. This song is more face paced than the rest of the album and you can tell the artists had a lot of fun with this song. “American Dreaming,” is a song that reminds me of being half awake in the shower and thinking about life. This song has slight hints of hopeful melancholy, but the way the lyrics and sound mesh together is just sublime.
Overall, I give this album and 8.5 out of 10. The uniqueness of the sound of the album is one of a kind. However, not all their songs are amazing. “Other Voices,” and “Emotional Haircut,” are good parts of the album as a whole, but individually those songs are a little out there to fully enjoy. “How do you Sleep?” is a good song overall, but this 9:12 song has some parts that aren’t great to listen to and drag on a little bit. However, these small flaws only minimally take away from the album as a whole. The lyrics to their songs are so unique and the juxtaposition to the music makes such a distinct sound that always lets me know that I’m listening to LCD Soundsystem when one of their songs comes on the radio.