Hiro11

I searched and there doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread for this album...

This is probably the best album I've heard so far this year. The first (s/t) album was an instant classic but maybe a little overlong. The new one is tightly edited with only nine songs, none of which overstay their welcome. Basically the whole album seems inspired by American and British music from the 1979-1983 period.

Songs:

Get Innocuous: a Brian Eno/Talking Heads/Blondie neo-new wave track with a great beat (the bassline seems lifted from Kraftwerk's "Robots"). I particularly like the "Edge of Seventeen" guitar scratching at the end of the song.

Time to Get Away: sounds like a "Dirty Mind" era Prince song with some funky synths and organ. Should be a big hit

North American Scum: first single (obviously), currently ripping up the charts. Hilarious song dripping with sarcasm. Also extremely catchy and driving. I love the "where the buildings are old and you might have lots of mimes" line.

Someone Great: analogue, retro, Numan/Human League electro nirvana. One of my favorite tracks on the album. Great sequencer line.

All My Friends: my favorite track on the album. Seems directly inspired by the unsung New Order classic "Leave Me Alone" off of Power, Corruption and Lies. Building, gliding rock track that's actually genuinely moving. Track of the year?

Us V Them: sounds like a lift from the first album. Mark E Smith vocals, great Chic/Tony Thompson drumming. This track rolls like a streamroller.

Watch the Tapes: amps up the "punk" over the "funk" sound a little like a retread of the previous album's "Give It Up". Slightly fuzzy/lo-fi shouty song. Great track for running and one of the stronger ones on the album. The chorus will stick in your head.

Sound of Silver: wow, great beat on this track. Once again, the chorus hook is extremely catchy. Shows a combination of Giorgio Moroder/Duran Duran/post punk influences.

New York I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down. A love song to the Koch-era NYC, mildly lamenting the somewhat sanitized Guiliani/Bloomberg version. Slow, folky track that builds into a rock anthem. I think this track may have the best lyrics on the album.

So, all in all a terrific album. It's sort of a cut and paste album, with the influences of each track readily apparent. It's fun to see how Murphy's going to combine the various elements. Just like the first album, this is a complete record nerd album where people like myself can nod sagely when he drops in a synth line ripped from The Pleasure Principle onto a beat ripped from The Cars first album. That's not to say that it's shallow because it also has some great songwriting and terrific lyrics. IMO, it's the songwriting that makes the album truly great. It's going to have to be one hell of an album to unseat this one as the best this year.

naitram

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=492251

Hiro11

Blerg. To explain myself: for some reason, that thread doesn't show up if you search "soundsystem" (try it yourself). Also, you can't search 3 character strings which eliminates that possibility. Friggen annoying. Mods, feel free to close.

DrRingDing

For future reference, if it's a 2007 album and has its own thread already, I will have linked it in my "What albums are you looking forward to in 2007?" thread (which I've asked twice now to be retitled to something more accurate to what it now contains).
-ringding-