american dream

Putting it simply, I just hated this album. Putting it not so simply... This album sounded like the results of a music comp teacher telling their class to create a song that is dance music that you are unable to dance to. It sounds like what Norwegians think peak dance music is. I don't know who this appeals to. It was too atmospheric to groove to. It was too shrill and discordant to chill to. There were a couple parts of a couple songs that I actually liked, but the songs are soooooo long, it was like going to a theme park when it's too busy and you stand in line for 2 hours for a 30 second ride. As the final 12 minute song wore on, all I could think about was how much I wanted it to end, like it was the last 5 minutes of a lecture and I really have to pee. Does this album belong on the list of 1001 albums you need to listen to before you die? No, I guess? It was released in 2017, a time in which there is practically infinite music. It's better than the stuff I hear when I put Bandcamp on shuffle, but that's about all I can say about it. Listen to something else. My personal enjoyment: 0.5/5 Does it belong on this list: 1/5

Why not offer "Sound of Silver" here instead of "american dream"? This comeback record feels wary, restrained, earnest, even (omg) unironic. Karaoke with your boss instead of drunk with your friends. SoS was brilliant, snarky, fun and genuine. I hope/wish that it will show up on this list instead. But then you wonder if the energy and snark of SoS would be sustainable - if LCD should even bother making any other records and just quit and get jobs as accountants (pointing at you Emma Anderson). I can appreciate the joy of creation and artistic development, but there is also the stuffiness of playing one encore too many. My rating here is relative to SoS, not that ad was so bad, just that SoS was so great.

Over an hour of unflappably midtempo disco rock - occasionally stimulating, other times embarrassing - over which James Murphy grouses that 'I've got nothing to say', 'I can't get out of bed', 'Keep your thoughts to yourself' and 'I've been misunderstood', his bland voice pushed forward just enough that it doesn't get lost in the dirge-thump. There are smarter lyrics in here than the ones I've quoted, but these represent the main case statement: that the band intends to make a virtue out of having nothing much to say.

Heard that the reason why LCD Soundsystem hasn't released a new album in so long is that somebody showed James Murphy a song that's under 8 minutes and his brain started leaking out of his head.

The title track was when I lost all faith. It uses the keyboard melody from Circus of Death, the B-side to the Human League's first single, and a macabre Ballardian bit of gloomsynth. It's pretty much my fave Human League track, even if it sounds faintly silly sausage. And its inclusion here would be the worst instance of record-collection rock possessing an allusion instead of a soul, were it not for the very same song ending with the same drum pattern as Joy Division's New Dawn Fades. Musicianshipwise, it's hard to chastise the album. Philosophically, you should lace up your Doc Martens and aim for the face. This is an album that not only draws inspiration from post-punk, it draws music from post-punk. On my first listen, to my recollection, I spotted Suicide, Talking Heads, the Pop Group, Gang of Four, Kraftwerk, the forementioned Human League, Joy Division numerous times, New Order duh, and worst of all, in leader James Murphy's vocal stylings, Bono. I can feel some querying why I didn't spot This Heat or the Slits. This isn't a homage to post-punk, it's a betrayal. Post-punk didn't bow towards the Easter Island statues of the past, it asserted the shock of the new. It embraced contemporary trends, from dub to disco, and distorted them through its cracked prism. By offering an album crammed with nickings from post-punk bands, all LCD Soundsystem provide is a yawn of the obvious. Why should I listen to american dream when I can just listen to Metal Box? Indeed, the title american dream reveals the truism that America doesn't really get the challenge and exploration of post-punk, but just sees it as a trendy style with which to impress girls. And aptly, by such an argument, I outhipster LCD Soundsystem. (I didn't derive the next point by myself, but got it partially from a Washington Post article, yet it's too perfect to ignore; plagiarism seems fitting for an LCD Soundystem review). For all James Murphy's quoting of Ian Curtis and Brian Eno, there's one figure he most resembles. The appeal of James Murphy as a tastemaker is based on his middle-aged uncoolness, which was exactly the pitch of Huey Lewis. Going further, both make a selling point of their awareness and self-mockery of their wackness, and both market towards groups they would claim to disavow, yuppies and hipsters (members of both groups would disavow membership of those groups, uncoincidentally). Both act as if the present isn't happening, and that musical perfection was attained at least a decade prior. And that would be fine for both artists, but it leaves LCD Soundsystem open to this (and let's face it, I'm required to do this now): "You like LCD Soundsystem? Their early work was a little too techno for my taste. But when Sound of Silver came out in '07, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Daft Punk, but I think James Murphy has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. In '17, James released this: american dream, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "tonite". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the demands of conformity and the mutability of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself..."

Pussy bustin' fun. That's the real American dream. Just getting paid and getting laid.

I think it's interesting because I'm deep enough in this album thing that I feel like I have heard the albums that actually influenced this. Sound system is Striving for a New Order, Siouxsie and the Banshees, synth vibe that it just tottally misses the mark. Shit the instrumentals sound like video game soundtracks from the 90s at times. I want to like, but I think i hate it tbh.

mom: no, we're not stopping, we have Talking Heads at home Talking Heads at home:

american dream by LCD Soundsystem (2017) Is this the future of music? I hope not. I kept wanting to turn it down. american dream consists of spacious electro pop compositions that are completely unafraid of expanding the tonal range to the limits of human aural perception (especially on the low end), but are musically mechanical and soulless, with their doodad wizardry and droning chord non-progressions. Intentionally discordant voices recite well rehearsed but pointless and awkwardly cadenced phrases that only marginally prompt thought or even puzzlement. The lyrical highlight of the album comes at the end of track six, “tonite” (Somebody tweet e.e. cummings and let him know he’s trending), where we hear LCD Soundsystem Klangmeister James Murphy addressing the studio booth: “It’s gonna have to be good enough; I can’t do this anymore; my brain won’t work.” One might have thought that was obvious. I suppose one could dance to this, if one were an ambisexual automaton, but what’s the point? Perhaps one could put this album on when peeling potatoes or getting a pedicure, maybe simultaneously. Even the (synthetic?) cowbell lacks soul. 1/5

Can, Suicide, Captain Beefheart, Daft Punk, CBGB, Paradise Garage, Larry Levan, The Peech Boys, Modern Lovers, Niagara, Detroit techno, Yaz, and ends with "But have you seen my records?" and a list of the following: This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, Trojans, Black Dice (referred to as 'The Black Dice'), Todd Terry, the Germs, Section 25, Althea & Donna, Sexual Harassment, a-ha, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, The Fania All-Stars, The Bar-Kays, The Human League, The Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Monks, Niagara, Joy Division, Laurent Garnier, The Creation, Sun Ra, Scientists, Royal Trux, 10cc, Rammelzee, Eric B. and Rakim, The Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force ("Just hit me!"), Juan Atkins, Manuel Göttsching, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil Scott-Heron, The Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharoah Sanders, The Fire Engines, Swans (referred to as 'The Swans'), Soft Cell (referred to as 'The Soft Cell') and The Sonics (repeated four times)

I’d love to sit in a pub with James Murphy and just talk about obscure music but I know if I ever got the chance I’d instantly find myself massively out of my musical depth and feel deeply ashamed for having only the most superficial knowledge about anything. I love LCD Soundsystem. Was gutted when they split up but was really pleased to see them come back and then bring out this cracking album. I probably prefer their first album to this one but I think that’s only because it just sounded so different and exciting when I first heard it. You could make a strong case for this being objectively a better album than their first album but as we don’t have to rank them I guess I’ll just stop agonising over it, give it four stars and move on with my life.

Nothing new to see here. Others are describing this as an homage to post-punk, but it just comes across as crass plagiarism. The influences are dragged out with too heavy a hand, so it sounds like your local band fired up the drum machine and deciding to "do" Suicide, Eno-Talking Heads, The Cure, Bowie, Sparks, etc. The lyrics attempt pithy with and clever observations but fall apart with bland aa-bb rhyming and obviousness. As with the LCD debut with the Talking Heads/ Being Boiled mashup of "Losing My Edge" a dozen years earlier, it just seems that Murphy must rely on borrowing another's voice instead of finding his own. 2 stars for the fleeting entertainment of playing "who am I this time"

Despite loving their previous albums, this passed me by in 2017 (HOW?), and absolutely loved listening to this. A tiny bit of filler towards the end but the darkness it descends into is an enjoyable ride.

Not as immediate as their other releases however, if you like LCD Soundsystem then you'll love this album. A mix of new wave, post punk, dance, sarcasm and irony. Part of the brilliance is you can play spot the influence and feel just as smug as they are. Unless it's Bowie's "Heroes". That's just a given. Best Tracks: Oh Baby; Tonite; Call The Police

This is a great exmample of modern western music. Pulling out all the tricks, this album is filled to the brim with pops and clicks and spare synth noises which gives it a more classic techno sound all while blending some thin melody and a driving bass line though the whole album. The song construction though not the most innovative, does feel like a fresh callback to a style of early Brian Eno, all while bringing that sound into a post EDM world.

4.5, but honestly, cant really find any major flaws with the album. Great mixture of energetic tracks with slower ballads, with super dense instrumentation.

Just… wow. This is the most contrived bullshit I’ve heard in years, including that crappy MGMT album that popped up earlier this week. I had a sinking feeling from the e.e. cummings song titling and the zero-effort cover art. This hot garbage is void of any semblance of creativity, originality, or effort. It sounds like if the Black Keys actually admitted to themselves that they’re fucking hipsters, and channeled their newfound wannabe synthwave edginess into a failed attempt at playing David Bowie B-sides in the style of Radiohead circa 2002, fronted by a tone-deaf hack with an inferiority complex. This dumpster fire *might* pass as a live improv act at a stoner jam session, but the fact that this band actually spent time and money to prepare and record this shit undermines any credibility they can possibly claim as musicians and songwriters. Turning out this “album” has lots in common with failing a take-home exam. You had an abundance of time, resources, reference material, and collaborators, and you just… fucked around and doodled on the test papers instead? I can’t tell if LCD Soundsystem misunderstood the assignment here, or just didn’t give a shit. Either way, I’m equally pissed off that there’s evidently a demographic of brain-dead kool-aid drinkers who slurp this shit up like Catholics with their sacrament. I’m frothing at the mouth to know how this steaming pile made the 1001 list. It’s a categorical guarantee that literally any other album demonstrates more worthiness than this.

I remember the hype around this band when they were first active. I didn't get them at the time. It just seemed like uninteresting, privileged kid indie rock. Now here I am in 2022 and still unimpressed. Very unimpressed. At least back then they had the song about Daft Punk or whatever which was tolerable. Nothing here is. It's just both bland and annoying. I could've maybe thrown this a 2 if it wasn't so much of a slog to get through. Then when the light at the end of the tunnel appears: a 12 minute borefest to close it out. I don't deserve that, do I? I have no clue why this album would be deemed essential. I have avoided looking at the list as best I can but I assure you far more interesting or better performed albums have been snubbed for this. I have no idea why this is here. It is tofu without marinade, seasoning or what have you. To the Pit of Doom with you.

I remember hearing about this album when it came out but never took the time to really sit with it until now. I loved it! The production is gorgeous - meticulous layers of drums, synths and guitars. Every instrument and layer feels carefully placed but the music still retains a nervy edge. The music owes a lot to early 80's new wave. "Other Voices" and "Change Yr Mind" sound a lot like "Remain in Light"-era Talking Heads, which we had on this list a few months back. And on "How Do You Sleep?", "Call the Police," and "Emotional Haircut," James Murphy sings like Bono on the early U2 albums! For my money, "Tonite" is the centerpiece of the album. There are a lot of lyrics about being middle-aged on the album but I love the sense of humor on this one. The lyrics about how today's pop songs are all about fear of death and mortality cracked me up. LCD Soundsystem clearly tried to make a major statement of an album and for my money they succeeded. The album is a rich, emotional and musical experience with great grooves.

Perfect blend of dancey goodness and artsy weirdness. I saw so much buzz for this album when it came out, and honestly it lives up to the hype. I'm gonna have to check more of these guys' stuff out.

First track starts with a dope intro like the song is gonna drop the bass or something. It dropped some sweet fat synths reminiscent of 80s synths. The haunting male vocals come in softly and there is a nice soundscape going on with arpeggios and pads. Great track and build up was dope. 4/5 Second song, "other voices" there's a good dance track it is bumping it has a good baseline and the lyrics are kind of not important so you can dance along to it there's a little bit of variety introduced with some guitar work and synthesizers the good thing is the track is steady all the way throughout. In "I Used To" the band has another awesome dance track that you can listen to and get lost in. There are sweeping synths that jump from the background to the foreground, the tempo is perfect. Then the guitar that comes in perfectly timed gives a chance to energize the song and climax. Love the vocals and the deep deep reverbs and delays used throughout. number 4, "change yr mind" starts off with a track. Then goes into full industrial electronica, with harsh and unrelenting brasses and synths. Black screen is such a great song. I listened to the album and second time around on a better sound system and it was an improvement. 4/5 stars good solid electronic/dance album

The cover artwork for LCD Soundsystem's American Dream leaves much to be desired. Featuring a simplistic depiction of a blue sky with clouds and a glaring sun, it feels almost too straightforward and lacks the depth that one might expect from such a celebrated band. The choice of imagery seems uninspired, resembling a stock photo more than an artistic statement. While some may appreciate its vibrant colors, it ultimately feels like a missed opportunity to convey the album's themes more creatively. Overall, this artwork does not capture the essence of LCD Soundsystem's innovative spirit, earning it a mere two stars. Album artworks rated: 19/1001 Music's fine.

OK you can’t listen to this without a drink in your hand and your hips whipping up a full on hurricane. I’ve got a 2017 cuveé and I’m making a nassty batch of Rochester Hot Sauce for the Buffalo Bills game. Trying to see if this wine has gone bad before I dump it in the sauce. Jury is still out. How do you sleep, tonite, and call the police is a strong 3 song stretch. Woah and American dream too? Let’s see. Lcd soundsystem is like watching a movie with subtitles that are a different storyline. Sometimes you can tune into the vocals and go one direction, then you can tune into everything else and go somewhere entirely elsewhere. Can be distracting in moments but I like it overall. Woah emotional haircut drums! This is def a no-nope album. Unreal. So good. 4.5/5.

When I saw this was the daily album my immediate thought was "ooh, I love LCD Soundsystem, but why would you include the worst of their four studio albums on this list??" Having since listened to it 5 times in 24 hours, I'm prepared to revise the second half of that statement (although I do still think sound of silver is better). The albums we've had so far have taken a variety of approaches to the problem of where they put the best track - we've had starting strong, finishing strong, and hiding your killer piano riff somewhere in the middle of 30 minutes of mediocrity. The American Dream approach is to build up, slowly at first, to the absolute behemoth that is tonite. The 5 track run from change yr mind to the title track might be the best example of how to direct the energy flow throughout an album I've ever heard. My only knock on this album is that I don't feel that it sticks the landing, with emotional haircut/black screen being the weakest duo on the album (pulse wasn't on the original tracklist). If I wasn't such a massive fan of this kind of music in general and of James Murphy in particular, that might be enough to knock it out of my top records.

Really? Giving us the post-final show album? The “comeback” album. There’s two LCD Soundsystem albums that are far better than this mediocre attempt to recapture their glory days. & it’s not like I don’t like this album, but it’s not even a good representative of LCD Soundsystem

"Call the Police" was pretty good, with an engaging melody and backing rhythm. "Oh Baby", the other "highly rated track", was pretty dull, standard drum-machine and bass electronica. The other dogs fall in between a bit - interesting lyrics on some, but musically uninspired.

2/10 This album is endless dirge after dirge, droning on and on and on. It's like dance music at a funeral, but like, you can't dance to this stuff. It's not interesting, it's not fun, it's just a complete drag. I get why their earlier work might be on this list, but the presence of this album indicates that the writer made no effort to explore new music after roughly the year 2010, and has no taste to boot.

No idea why this is on the list. It's the worst LCD album by miles, and was arguably not required at all by humanity. Tonite is a pretty good song though I guess

Yeah, not good. It's bloated both as a whole and each song individually. The music is an incoherent mess. I can't even give it points for creativity - it's just poorly done electronica.

It just go on and on, on and on. The songs themselves drag, and the albums drags. It’s all -almost- fun, but everything is just slightly off so it’s tedious. As far as I can tell, there’s no Grace Jones on the list, but there’s this so-called neo-disco too-cool-go-school anti-dance dance music from the late 2000s? I call your bluff. Bad form.

A former co-worker of mine apparently loved this band so much that he got a tattoo of LCD Soundsystem. I didn't even have to listen to a song to know that the tattoo was a questionable choice at best. Having now listened to this album, all preconceived judgments have been confirmed. Some of music is best described as electronic/dance and then midway through the album's the tone changes and becomes indie rock. All of the songs are way too long. There are 12 songs and this album is 78 minutes long. The first couple of songs had pretty good beats and the lyrics were worthless. Then the beats became meh, the lyrics got worse, and my ears wanted to bleed. This is not the worst album on this list, there are certainly way worst albums, but this album needed to lose several tracks and then the other songs needed to be shortened.

Soulless and emotionless.

Holy crap was I not expecting this. Take the introspective lyrics of indie and post-punk and make it not only listenable, but danceable too. Both atmospheric and visceral. This might be one of my new favorite albums now.

This would be my pick for the user part of this website. I‘m at a crossroads in life and I feel seen by this album. James Murphy encapsulates very succinctly and in a dancing manner my feelings for my first half of my twenties. I‘m too young to remember the start of LCD Soundsystem‘s actual career, heck the band broke up just as I was getting into my My Chemical Romance phase where I thought the Black Parade was the pinnacle of music. Luckily (or unfortunately) I was later on „civilized“ by my dear friends and especially by the LP collection of my friend’s father. Ziggy Stardust was probably the first album I actually thought was better than the Black Parade. The point of this tangent: if I was actually a Person when LCD Soundsystem became big, I would probably love their earlier albums more, but alas, I have to be the contrarian this time Every single song on this album speaks to me on some level, it feels like Murphy knows exactly what I‘m thinking about, even though I‘m just some random guy trying to hold it together day by day. He gets my romanticizing of New York City (even though I‘ve never been there), he gets my love for apparent esoteric bullshit that can be applied to anything you want, and most importantly I think he gets my feeling of being stuck in life in all aspects, apart from getting older. Musically it feels so much more mature, cold and distant than their earlier work. Despite the coldness it has very high highs, I get goosebumps every time I hear the break down of „one step forward… and six steps back!!!“, it‘s probably my favorite part of the album. The title track with it‘s „sha-bang, sha-bang“ is another highlight and then the following „emotional haircut“ is a great „up beat“ post-punk track that sounds like it could come directly from the 80‘s if it wasn‘t Murphy‘s vocals bringing us to the present. I don‘t really know what exactly Murphy wants to convey with his songs, I‘m not really a person who reads obsessively about music, I just listen to music and stop and think about the music I really like, and the albums that feel like they are speaking to me get bonus points. In the end I think it‘s a very hopeful album, despite it‘s very cold and clinical sound. Yeah, the lyrics aren‘t really happy-go-Lucky, but it feels like a trauma dump of sorts. Maybe the world would be a better place if more people would trauma dump with good music. Many will disagree, but I do think this belongs in the top 100 albums of all time, easily a 5/5. I hope more people will come to love this album, hopefully without having the anxiety and depression that I‘ve experienced. Ultimately I just wish that more people would dance to LCD Soundsystem. I know I wrote a lot of bullshit, but let a white boy yap for once. 5/5

Better than Rumors!

track one is strongly reminiscent of The Big Pink, who i love. track 2 is much more talking heads...who i also love. at one point, i swear heard devo in there somewhere. first track was definitely a winner, as was the last (which was amazing!), but overall i really appreciated the diversity of sound on this one.

9/10 sad, back with a vengeance, some of the best tracks they've made, some that's samey

Huge fan of Sound of Silver and loved getting to listen to american dream today. LCD Soundsystem making bangers per usual I suppose.

Loved this. Such a rich tapestry of genres, all done to perfection

I know and love this artist/band, and this album. They also continue to be a joyous live act, who I saw most recently in summer 2025. So it’s hard for me to be objective. If I try, I’d probably say this is a four star album from a five star act. The best songs - oh baby, call the police and black screen - are stellar. The others are merely very good. As ever, James Murphy laces his music with references to his own musical favourites. Just as examples, oh baby is a variation on Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, and I can pick up traces of Echo and the Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon in the long runout to black screen. I love that stuff.

LCD are great, though this isn’t my fave of theirs, but still some great grooves on here. A couple songs felt a wee bit long but this world quite well as background music because of it

American Dream I’m not always that into complaining about the list, but I think this is a bit of an odd inclusion. LCD Soundsystem are a favourite band of mine, and I think this is a fine album, but it’s the weakest of their 4 proper albums, and if there are going to be two LCD Soundsystem albums on the list then the debut album, or for me, This Is Happening are more deserving of a place. Anyhow, like I say I do like this album, but I haven’t listened in a while, and it’s notable how much of a Berlin era Bowie inspired album this is. They’ve always had a significant amount of Bowie influence, but mixed in with a diverse range of other artists, and I think this probably suffers in comparison to their other albums from that focus on Bowier, especially combined with the slightly dour, downbeat feel it has. Obviously the last track, Black Screen is a direct homage, but I’m sure Bowie’s death, combined with the sense of aging and tiredness, and a similar tempo to a lot of the songs gives it that slightly burnt out feel (as does the slightly unnecessary length of most of the songs) Still, they are a great band even if it’s not their strongest record and there are some excellent songs - Oh Baby, Other Voices, the Uber-Bowie Change Yr Mind, Tonite, Call the Police, Emotional Haircut and the moodily great Black Screen. And the songs outside that, even if they aren’t as strong are still very good art-rock-dance tracks, and the whole record does have a great sound. I think this just about gets to a 4, it's too well made with too much quality to go below that, but it’s definitely not their best album. 🇻🇮🇻🇮🇻🇮🇻🇮 Playlist submission: Tonite

I mean, it's good and all, but it hardly feels necessary. LCD Soundsystem's reunion has always rubbed me the wrong way. James Murphy made such a definitive final statement for the band with This Is Happening and a live film/album ironically titled The Long Goodbye. that Long Goodbye lasted all of four years. while there's definitely a few pretty great songs here, a lot of the material just feels like the band spinning their wheels. the synth work is still pretty fresh, and I enjoy that they feel more like an actual live band, but it can't make up for the fact that a bunch of these songs just feel like rehashes of the best moments from their first three LPs. "emotional haircut" feels like a lesser "Drunk Girls," "call the police" feels like a lesser "All My Friends," and on and on. that's not even mentioning the lyricism, which can get downright mean-spirited at times. Murphy used to have a little more self-awareness, but "tonite" is basically just a boomer ramble about how pop music sucks now. never heard that one before. overall, it could've been worse, but it also could've been much better. or, preferably, it could never have existed, and LCD Soundsystem's discography wouldn't have this odd blemish on it. light 7/10.

I love LCD Soundsystem but I always have to curate the song selection to get a true 5/5 from them.

Very fun, Oh Baby was incredible.

How did this come out in 2017? I saw them at festivals in this era and it just felt much “older” as does this album. Not in a bad, I just mean from another era. An era that I happen to like. This one didn’t come alive for me until “how do you sleep?” It made me realize I needed to turn up the volume. This music just needs to be louder.

While this feels like lesser LCD Soundsystem, it’s still fantastic LCD Soundsystem.

Techno rock which has flashes of potential at times, such as "I used to", which gives flashes of U2. Yet it suffers from repetitiveness and a sense of listlessness.

I can dig it

I dig LCD. Not my favorite of theirs but it's still pretty good. Would have been four stars but the last tune should have been half as long. Still, I have a spiritual problem with this band that makes it hard for me to fully commit. I recall the day probably ten or more years ago when I opened the New York Times Styles Section and read how the frontman committed a Crime Against Rock ... he built a hipster hotel with fancy pants restaurant in Williamsburg. That's not something that someone who hopes they die before they get old does when they receive a windfall. Jimi Hendrix built a recording studio in Greenwich Village and then practically moved in. Keith Moon bought antique cars and drove them into his swimming pool. We don't even know what Keith Richards did with his money, and neither does he. THAT'S how you're supposed to do it! Not this "invest in your future" bullshit. I think I read that Wilco refurbished an old resort hotel in the Catskills. Oy vey!

Not bad, but also not that good.

Man, I can’t help but feel that this band is just a sum of its influences a lot of the time. I guess you can say that for a lot of bands, but with LCD Soundsystem, it can be really on the nose. Take the second track here, “other voices”: there is a repetitive synth line that enters at the beginning of the song that recalls Suicide’s “Frankie Teardrop” and the song’s overall Remain In Light-era Talking Heads feel is made complete by the faux-Adrian Belew loopy guitar histrionics that punctuate throughout. Or maybe I’m just in tune with what he is doing and it’s more noticeable to me than the average listener, but I suspect most of you could probably tell that James Murphy also really likes David Bowie. It’s a fine album, but like “Sound of Silver”, the overt homages to the bands that provided influence on LCD Soundsystem might detract from your enjoyment.

Self congratulatory rubbish. Far too long, far too generic and far too unoriginal to deserve a place on this list. I didn’t hate the music (it’s to meh to achieve that emotion), but I did hate the arrogant and pretentious vibe. Very pleased with itself with absolutely no justification.

This was a proper slog of an album. american dream droned on and on, and I couldn't tell where one song ended and another began. Sometimes, the vocals and music reminded me of Talking Heads, and we don't need another Talking Heads. I liked Sound of Silver OK, but in retrospect maybe I was too generous in my rating. I don't think I would still give it a 3, but I'm not about to torture myself listening to that album again in the chance it's even the littlest bit similar to american dream.

First time listening to this album. Dudes think they're Talking Heads. But they're not. Each song is just one note looped for 5 minutes and nothing else happens. Jesus. And there are three 9+ minutes long songs on this album. Genuinely why did it get so much critical acclaim upon release? 1/5

Best: Oh baby Immediately I am pleasantly surprised with this album as I was briefly obsessed with the opening track “oh baby” but had never listened to the rest of the album. Ohmygod I was so wrong :( To me this album captured the generic sound of the 80s without capturing any of the soul or passion in the music, at points it sounded like copies of other songs with different lyrics. So many of the songs felt so repetitive and long, black screen in particular dragged so much for me. The lyrics across this album are pretty terrible and having listened to the entire thing I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I enjoy oh baby lol.

Nope. Not at all. Not one little bit. Absolutely not. And fuck off with the twee "we put all our song titles in lower case because we're artistes" nonsense.

Wow, what an awful album! It almost ruined my day off. Zero creativity, from the cover (which looks like some evangelical church pamphlet made in the old Windows XP Paint) to the last second of this crap. I think this is the first time in a long time I've had a huge urge to give it less than 1 star. Unfortunately, I can't. Next one, please.

girl shut up. who is this for.

the american dream is dead

OK, so first of all, I thought these guys were an EDM band, so I was glad to be disabused of that notion. The next thought I had as I was listening was that these guys must've been huge fans of The Talking Heads. Still, I was kind of digging the vibes of it. But then that singer started driving me crazy, especially with his oh-so-tiresome "I have nothing to say but I'm gonna spend a lot of time saying it" lyrics. Then the Talking Heads influence became more of a straight up rip off, except on some of the songs, when the dude sang like a low-rent Bono. Do these guys have an original thought or idea? How is this album on this list? Brooklyn produced a number of interesting bands at this time (Menomena, Dirty Projectors, etc.), but judging from this album, these guys aren't one of them.

I did not enjoy this, dance rock? I found it quite repetitive. It did not hold my attention!

GOOD

I always had LCD Soundsystem pegged as an archly hip, tounge in cheek party band and failed to understand why they are so beloved. Silly me, I should have listened to the songs. There is some seriously good work here, and the middle stretch of tracks from 'How Do You Sleep' to 'Call The Police' is staggering. The music succeeds because of the long, linear layering of sounds, rhythms, grooves and squelches, with enough of the sounds, rhythms, grooves and squelches being captivating, catchy or emotionally thrilling that the whole impact moves you along at an undeniable pace, layered over with very clever and often achingly profound lyrics. Bravo LCD Soundsystem I was unaware of your game.

Absolutely love LCD Soundsystem

Iconic punk album

I was going to make a crack about this not being sure whether it wants to be Stop Making Sense, Berlin-era Bowie, or Disintegration-era Cure, but fair play to you, James, those are all also things I want.

Holy shit this album is fucking awesome!! It’s just pure joy and fun. It’s just so endearing. I can’t believe one of their best album is their “comeback” album. This truely could be one of their best albums!

LCD Soundsystem is one of my favorite bands. Not gonna' mince words. The genre is electronica techno, lyrical... and it has meaning. Sometimes deep, sometimes dark, sometimes inspirational, but always real and heartfelt. I think that some of their "songs" are actually more "experiences" to be had than listened to. And I will not apologize or make excuses. Some may not love the genre or whatever. But I do! And damn is this band just ... one of the best of all time.

Outstanding album, diverse and brilliant, poignant in places without being syrupy, tunes you can dance to, others just to enjoy. Yea, it’s derivative, all music is derivative and if you think the music you like isn’t, you haven’t listened to enough music, but the talent is taking something that went before and crafting something new from it. 5/5 (mainly to balance out all the 1/5 who thought they were being clever by saying ‘I can hear Talking Heads in this as if that’s a bad thing)

Didn’t expect this to be so good. It’s pretty much all bangers, end to end. 5/5

all time best

The triumphant return of LCD Soundsystem after its relatively short end. Thank goodness. If you put my favorite things in a bag and shook them up, this band is what would come out. Punk. Funk. Dance. Disco. Humor. I know this band is likely not everybody’s cup of tea and I would say I understand why. But for me, this is as good as it gets.

Сколько раз я плакала над песней american dream? Да. Сколько раз я заплачу, читая разносы на этом сайте? Да. Мой любимый альбом этого невыносимого дядьки. Люблю его. Тун тун тун тыц тыц тыц

I am unapologetic in my love for this band and this is a great album. Call the police is the highlight.

Me encantooooooo. Entero. Me parecio buenisimo en serio todo toal

This album starts off with one of my favorite LCD Soundsystem songs, and then progresses through a somewhat moody fusion of modern indie rock and vintage electronica. I've said before that I appreciate a long song, and this album delivers that in spades. I find it cool how a lot of the tracks shift between danceable beats and more atmospheric portions. Overall, a great album. Favorite track(s): "oh baby," "call the police," "how do you sleep?"

rien qu'au titre je savais #sacheuse voilà ya que des rageux sur ce site par contre 2017 ?? ça aurait été encore plus peak quelques années plus tôt (absolument pas spécialiste de la musique btw)

This was always the album I skipped when I go back & play through their albums. Hadn't listened to it in a really long time... But now that I've seen them live a few times, a lot of these tracks stand out as being more familiar & I enjoyed it much more. Biased 5 since I like the band lol

De grote hit Daft Punk van LCD Soundsystem stond op het eerste album. Dat selecteert het boek dus niet. En dat is natuurlijk...helemaal terecht. Natuurlijk, de hit is een echte earcatcher. En er stonden verder wat geinige dingen op. Maar het zou uiteindelijk als geheel een vergeetbare 3 krijgen. Het volgende album was al wat sterker, iets meer volwassen. Dat kreeg hier van mij een 3. Wellicht net iets te zuur, maar het was het eerste album dat ik kreeg, dus mijn meetmethode moest nog geijkt worden. Daarna ben ik de band uit het oor verloren. Dus ik word wat verrast door een album van deze band dat ik niet ken. Dan blijkt dat de volwassenheid zich heeft doorgezet. We luisteren ineens, ondanks de rariteiten, naar een samenhangend en gebalanceerd geheel. Voor de andere genoemde albums leken ze hun inspiratie uit allerlei verschillende hoeken vandaan te halen. De ene keer komt een digitale punk-plaat voorbij, dan weer een nummer met een hiphop-beat. Hierdoor werden de albums als geheel soms wat los zand. De inspiraties uit het verleden lijken nu aangevuld te worden met inspiratie van mede-dance-/elektronica artiesten. Dat zijn artiesten die meer gewend zijn te zoeken naar verbinding in de muziek. Zo hoor je bijvoorbeeld in 'other voices' een doorgaande Groove Armada beat, die het soms flink schurende geluid flink besuikerd. De combinaties maken het regelmatig erg intrigerende muziek. Maar voor de inmiddels geijkte meetmethode: kan ik het ook twee keer luisteren? Anders krijgt het in principe geen 4 sterren. Ja hoor, met extra luisterplezier zelfs. Hoezo eigenlijk 3 of 4 sterren? Bam! 5 sterren!

Hmmmm hmm hmm hmm hmm revisit later

Oui ! C’est cool, c’est varié, rock progressif, la voix est chouette ! Je connaissais déjà le groupe mais je ne connaissais pas cet album

There are certainly some duds on this album, and it walks the line between being cool and pretentious at times. But it's still a solid 9/10 for me. I listened to it 3 times to decide, and liked it more every time. It feels really cohesive without getting too boring, as long as you're into long-ish ambient synth instrumentals. The lyrics are cool too.

i have listened to this before. i think their previous album is closer to *straight masterpiece* but i still have a lot of love for this one. the dance songs are very dancey, the sad songs are very sad, the vibey songs are very vibey. the worst thing i can say about it is it's a little self-indulgent (long synthy art pieces, ending with 6 minutes of twinkly space sounds and piano. also i might still think "emotional haircut" is stupid). lyrics generally aren't the biggest thing to me on an album but i'm fond of a whole lot of lines here. favorite song is the title track "american dream", i think the lyrics on top of the waltzy rhythm just get me emotional. soft 5

One of my favorite albums of all time

I really love this album. I know it's a bit popular to hate on this record and even a bit popular to hate on LCD Soundsystem since they "rip off" so many other artists. For me they're kind of the culmination of a lot of different genres and artists that I love like Bowie, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Can, and Talking Heads. This album has a nostalgic and modern feel simultaneously. I love the dance punk feeling and I love that they lean into krautrock so much like in how do you sleep? As much as I love this album, I do wonder if it belongs on this list since there isn't anything particularly special or revolutionary about this one.

I love this album. Obviously, as a millennial, I have an undying allegiance towards LCD Soundsystem, whether I listen to them on a regular basis or not. Is nostalgia clouding my judgement? Maybe. Does it fucking matter? No. Nostalgia aside, I think its hard for any human on earth not to find something likable in this album. My love affair with this band started somewhere at the beginning. I probably heard them first after Sound of Silver came out. I think Brett McCarty introduced them to me. It was the punk adjacent, part nihilism / part optimism of James Murphy that drew me in. It reminded me of similar local acts at the time (Seve. vs. Evan), but waaay more New York. Way more punk, but in a scene where punk was kind of smirked upon. That's what clicked for me. Its impossible to not draw connections to David Byrne, but this is to a new audience and has a different voice. Musically, I love the experimental elements. I love the danciness of it all. I love the contrast and conflict in his voice and lyrics. This band has always been a vibe to me, I need to be in the right mood. But when I'm ready for it, it hits hard.

Reminds me of Kris ❤️✨

A middle-aged indie existential crisis set to impeccable beats. Somehow both deeply tired and annoyingly great, like your coolest friend complaining about their knees.

Pretty fucking good.

Great band name. If this was 1001 band names you must rate before you die then it would be 5 stars. I know the name but cant name a song off the top of my head. Track 1 is nice in a twin peaksy, edm type moody joy divisionish way. Might struggle if its the whole album. Track 2 a bit more funky. Are they edm punk romantic new wave? If so i could be here for it. I mean i could just listen to Talking Heads but this has edm as well! Track 3 back to moody bleep bloop. But its no more bleep bloop than The Foals and i like them. I can like this too. I wonder if live they are a guy with a synth, drum machine, same guy as vocalist. I dont think id like that as much as the foals live but similar build in this track, emotive, well put together. I think ultimately i’d get into this, if i was off my tits i bet i’d even stand feet planted and sway like a whacky arm flailing inflatable tube man. There is a punk sensibility to this i quite like. A continuation of PIL. Yeah i quite lile this. Its got enough grunt not to be morose and gloomy amd there’s aome nice build and layers in the compositions.

LOVE LOVE!!! 5*

Terrific vibes! Really want to play this on speakers. "how do you sleep?" has an absolute banger of a synth.

Eternal Love!

my first listen to this band ever, im hyped!!! will check out other albums for sure, i love it <33

This fucking slaps let's goooo

Been in the mood for this vibe of album recently

Didn't think I'd be lucky enough to get an LCD Soundsystem album! What a treat. I love the way he layers sounds. Lots of spoken word here and electronica. "I USED TO" is an unexpected favorite!

Loved this one such a cool mix of more modern stuff with an old school synth/brit-pop style.

Love this album.