Having seen the band perform live, I was intrigued as to which (obviously analogue) synths they were using. Happily the sleeve of this album tells us most of the gear used. As well as the afore mentioned TR-808 and 606 the EMS VCS3 and Polysynthi seem to have been used quite heavily, there is a smattering of CS60, Simmons Drums, Moog Rogue and the very random Moog Cordovox CDX amongst others. All in all there is a very healthy amount of synth on this album.
On the down side, ‘All I Want’ sounds like an annoying pastiche of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and ‘Somebody’s Calling Me’ qualifies as the most annoying song of 2010 (no, it really is very very irritating). The cover art is dire and a couple more tracks would not have gone amiss.
Furthermore Murphy has hinted that this may well be his last LCD Soundsystem album. The cynicism of ‘You Wanted a Hit’ coupled with Murphy’s recent pleadings to fans not to leak the album before its release date smack of an irreversible disenchantment with the recording industry. This is both a sad and rather disturbing position that I sincerely hope Murphy does not stick to.
Yes, kill off the LCD Soundsystem moniker if you must, but don’t stop recording and releasing material. I beg you James; your moments of genius are beyond my comprehension.
