Losing His Edge

There are a few times when it is so hard to listen to an album. Like when you know it’s the artist’s last album and you don’t want to hear it because you know nothing will come after it. Not that there’s anything wrong with bands putting an end to things, sometimes it’s great they don’t go on forever. Just that, really, we don’t want to know it before the actual last album. Which is just what James Murphy did: told the world that This Is Happening is LCD Soundsystem’s last album.

Which is why Dance Yrself Clean seems not like a drag of an intro but like the type of song that would help you overcome your fears: it takes a while to get to the point and gives you time to get used to the idea of listening to the last one. It’s a grower and so is the rest of the album, maybe with the exception of Drunk Girls. It’s also very heartfelt but, unlike everything before, there is no self-irony or laughter involved. Murphy is not happy with anything and even dancefloor anthems like Drunk Girls can’t hide it. “Just cause I’m shallow doesn’t mean that I’m heartless” goes one line.

There’s plenty of nostalgia and not so sparkly emotions wrapped in glitzy synths and songs that seem ready for the floor. All I Want and its bitterness shows Murphy is dead serious this time round and his voice conveys all the emotions of the lyrics. “Dance with me until I feel alright” he asks on I Can Change and it feels just right, no more games and fooling around. Sure, there is still some tongue-in-cheek-ness at times, but it’s mostly translated in songs like You Wanted A Hit, an acid replay to the music industry and Murphy’s own habits of writing sad dancefloor fillers.

And for a moment, it feels like Murphy remembers what seem like the lost days of Losing My Edge: he rambles on Pow Pow like he used to, but it’s not about being there. This one’s about finding your own place from where you can see things clear and understand everything. And still, confusion takes over again and he can’t find his own words anymore. So, by the end of the album, as LCD Soundsystem’s world wraps itself up, Murphy is left begging for things to be perfect and right. He wants to “shut the door on terrible times” and remember “the things we laughed about”. But it’s hard to do it when you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown like the one Murphy seems to be on.