Sound of Silver — 2007

Background

Sound of Silver was released in 2007, LCD Soundsystem's second album, further developing James Murphy's fusion of dance, punk and art-rock influences into a sound that balanced genuine club-ready grooves with unusually personal, often melancholic songwriting — a combination that set the project apart from most of the dance-punk and electroclash scenes it emerged alongside.

Sound

'All My Friends' builds a hypnotic, insistently repeating piano figure into an increasingly emotional meditation on ageing and friendship, widely regarded as one of the definitive songs of the 2000s indie and dance-rock crossover. 'Someone Great' pairs a bright, melodic synth-pop arrangement with a lyric addressing loss and grief, a combination of upbeat music and heavy subject matter that became one of Murphy's signature songwriting moves.

New York, I Love You

'New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down' closes the album with a piano-led, elegiac tribute to a rapidly changing New York City, capturing a specific mixture of affection and frustration that resonated widely with listeners navigating the city's gentrification and cultural shifts during the period. The song's blend of specific local detail and universal ambivalence gave it a lasting resonance beyond its immediate New York setting.

Legacy

Sound of Silver is widely regarded as LCD Soundsystem's finest album and one of the most significant dance-rock records of the 2000s, its combination of club-functional grooves and genuinely affecting, personal songwriting setting it apart from much of the era's more surface-level dance-punk revival. It remains a touchstone for artists working at the intersection of dance music and indie rock songwriting.