10 of 2010 (#8): LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

If second album Sound of Silver had the provisional title Oh Vanity, Thy Name Is Sophomore Effort, then what self-deprecating working name could we expect of James Murphy’s third and final album under the LCD Soundsystem moniker? The Disappointing Third Installment to the Series perhaps? Thankfully This Is Happening is more Toy Story 3 than Return of the Jedi.

It’s easy to see why Murphy’s amorphous troupe pull in the plaudits with each release. The relentless barrage of influences that bookended debut single Losing My Edge are peerlessly instilled into each album and This Is Happening is no exception. Whether you come for pop, disco, rock, electro or any other number of broad touchstones, LCD constantly deliver. Theirs is a pretension-free party without a guestlist; everyone’s invited.

Touted as their final album, This Is Happening starts rather unassumingly with Dance Yrself Clean but it isn’t long before it explodes into a staccato disco stomp that will have any limbs in earshot twitching spasmodically. And from there it doesn’t let up. There’s the hard-edged electro pulse of One Touch, the bounding, anthemic highlight I Can Change and the typically sardonic You Wanted A Hit. It’s also more fluidly structured than Sound of Silver, ending with Home, a blissful high where previously the party seemed slightly deflated by New York I Love You.

There’s little to doubt the veracity of Murphy’s claim that this is the end of LCD Soundsystem. Yet rather than bow out in downbeat fashion and leave us wondering what might have been, This Is Happening is a triumphant send-off that will have you happily waving them on to their respective futures.