LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
(3 1/2 stars)
LCD Soundsystem embodies a different part of our recent musical past. While Bloc Party, Interpol, The Killers, et al. are content to pick up the thread at the point New Wave had more or less established itself (and defined its own limits), LCD Soundsystem reaches farther back, to a time when the marriage of disco and punk was far from a given.
Like David Byrne and Joe Strummer before them, LCD Soundsystem lay down beats and keyboard farts like a bunch of blokes who ripped off ABBA's instruments, festooned them with anarchy symbols and are now trying to figure out how they work. And like those pioneers, LCD's James Murphy and Co. sound as if they're having a shameless amount of fun.
Sound of Silver, LCD's second record (not counting a promotional "exercise mix" the group cut for Nike), finds the party raging on, but with a bit more—I hesitate to use the word "caution," but if you're expecting something as goofy as "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" or as deeply funky as "Tribulations," you may feel a bit let down. The band hasn't slipped, however; they're just locking down their sound. "North American Scum" and "Get Innocuous" are tight, focused numbers that have enough shimmy for dance floors and enough brains for patient listening. ABBA and Byrne should be proud of what they've wrought.
– Geoff Carter
Jesse Malin
Glitter in the Gutter
(4 stars)
The Do-Over: staple of childhood playtime; rare phenomenon outside the sandbox-and-Capri Sun set. But leave it to punk troubadour Jesse Malin to reinstitute the Do-Over in the adult world (or as adult a world as the music business can be).
With his third solo album, the former D Generation frontman and sometime Ryan Adams protégé boasts a new label (buddy Billie Joe Armstrong's Adeline Records). High points include "Happily Ever After (Since You're In Love 2007)," a more upbeat, layered take on one of sophomore effort The Heat's standout tracks. And, most importantly, his sound finally catches up to his lyrical scope.
Cinematic and balls-to-the-wall urgent, Glitter's narratives concern glamorous lowlifes, optimistic party girls and discarded dreams (marvel at the piano-ballad "Bastards of Young" cover, with Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on guitar). And though Bruce Springsteen duets on the gorgeous, wistful "Broken Radio," it's the fist-pumping "Black Haired Girl" (featuring Jakob Dylan) that evokes all the wind-blown, ripped-leather, full-throttle spirit of "Born to Run."
Malin, in effect, is a sneering, unshowered, one-man version of The Hold Steady. Unlike the New York City quintet's name, however, he gives his songs free rein. When it comes to Malin's art and outlook, nothing need be set in stone.
– Julie Seabaugh
Rjd2
The Third Hand
(2 stars)
Do not approach The Third Hand with preconceived notions of Rjd2, hip-hop producer; it can only yield a total letdown. Rather, venture blindly into Rjd2, indie-pop artist, and vexation will trump any disappointment.
The disc opens with promise on the instrumental "Intro," a quirky synth-wave that could soundtrack a Wes Anderson film. Yet the bulk of this album appropriates said quirk and assaults it with a cacophony wrench. Keyboards deflect harpsichord whips ("You Never Had It So Good"); synthesizers straddle the ineffable line between Jesus Christ Superstar and porno music ("Reality"); vocal layering jumbles a Blake Sennett-esque croon. The result is dissonance: at best, a troubled Beck, at worst, an electronic Phish. Yet departures in tone are equally ridiculous: "Someday" is a stripped-down homage to Owen; "Paper Bubble" seems to record a beginner organist's practice runs. The closing "The Evening Gospel"—a return to "Intro"—suggests the album is bookended ... but doesn't that require an arc?
There is one highlight: the haunting "Just When," an Angelo Badalamenti New Wave dream. If only Rjd2 could always harness stimuli so successfully! But until then, the song's success merely magnifies the rest of the album's mediocrity, suggesting Rjd2 is best left to hip-hop.
– Kristyn Pomranz