Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 10:34PM LCD Soundsystem made a documentary covering their last days. This is the trailer:
Apparently this isn't a simple video of the the shows although there will be a DVD of that. I'm rather excited.
Find out more here: shutupandplaythehits.com.
BP x
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 12:36PM 
All I want is your tears. Sometimes it's the spaces in between that define the thing.
It is fair to say that over the past ten years LCD Soundsystem have done much to define what 'rock music that makes you dance' is. Together with his collective, James Murphy has become a central spoke for a change in music that sees crowds of fans at concerts a mix of indie kids, ageing musos and clubbers all enjoying the same thing but for different reasons. And here, on the cusp of what may (or may not be) the last LCD Soundsystem album, it is worth contemplating what has been before. Take ten of the best LCD Soundsystem songs and listen to them and you would have a varied set of tracks that stands up to the catalogues of many far more prolific bands.
But sweeping all of this to one side, what is important is that This Is Happening is another beautiful record. LCD Soundsystem make songs that sit somewhere between so funny it hurts and so painful it's funny. A desperate attempt to be heard above everyone else in the room that evolves like a kid who needs the girl so bad that he chips off the lame to leave only the cool. And one thing is sure - James Murphy is still cooler than you.
Make no mistake - This Is Happening is a subtler album. Sound Of Silver got into thing with the building, growling 'Get Innocuous'. Here things are kicked off with a slacker rock James Murphy who sounds like he can barely be bothered to sing... At least, until the base kicks in at which point 'Dance Yrself Clean' transforms into awkward needy blissful electro. And yes, no vowels is still cooler than replacing the word 'you' with 'u'.
And say what you want (and Vice magazine did) - yes, 'Drunk Girls' sounds like 'White Light, White Heat', but isn't that the fucking point? And does it make it sound any less infectious? And are the lyrics ('drunk girls know that love's like an astronaut - it comes back but it's never the same') not genius? And is the hook not perfect? And if you see it live isn't it even better? Yes, yes, yes and yes (and yes). But more to the point, the lead single to Sound Of Silver was 'North American Scum' and BlackPlastic defies anyone to say that was a better single. It isn't. And what does this prove? Vice magazine are a bunch of hipsters far more desperate than Murphy.
Much of what follows continues the trend from the sassy yet ultimately more constrained sound of LCD's first album proper (just the first disc) towards the more organic music of Sound Of Silver. Sadly nothing manages to scale the heights of 'Someone Great', 'All My Friends' or 'New York, I Love You' but the David Bowie's 'Heroes' does 'Here Come The Warm Jets' of 'All I Want' sure as hell gives it a shot.
Ultimately that is as good a sumation of This Is Happening as any. It may not have the three standout tracks of the last album but it has a greater artistic vision and a more consistent overall quality. Everything on here outshines the lesser tracks on Sound Of Silver and more importantly there is an apparent vision for the album. Where Sound Of Silver flitted from one genre to the next like a teenager playing with their parents' record collection This Is Happening basks in a warm organic glow that makes it sound much more timeless - whether it be on the warm disco grooves of 'I Can Change' or the tightly rhythmic 'You Wanted A Hit'. Sometimes it's the spaces in between that define the thing.
This Is Happening might not be perfect but it still manages to be more exciting and vital than almost anything else you will lay your hands on this year.
BP x
This Is Happening is out on EMI on 17 May, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].
emi, james murphy, lcd soundsystem in album review, review Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 11:21AM It's not that we are biased, it's just that LCD Soundsystem are still more exciting than everybody else. Check out the video Spike Jonze has made for new single 'Drunk Girls' as it's probably Jonze's best in years:
Very punk. Love it.
Forthcoming album This Is Happening is out on 17 May, the This Is Happening EP featuring 'Drunk Girls' is out now, both are on EMI.
Stay tuned - we will have a full review of the album on BlackPlastic soon. The album can also be streamed in full over at the LCD Soundsystem website.
BP x
Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 10:24AM LCD's lead single from the forthcoming album has hit the interwebs and it's pretty sweet. Not a re-defining track in the same way as 'Someone Great' or 'All My Friends' but more like a 'North American Scum' but better.
Based on the fact they are now headlining (headlining!) Barclaycard's O2 festival in London 2010 just might be theirs:
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 11:34AM 
There is a lot of talk at present of an electroclash resurgence. A second wave. With new albums from DJ Hell, Kittin & The Hacker and Peaches it is perhaps easy to see why. What is strange though is that many of these acts have distanced themselves from this sound already - Miss Kittin's rather good I Com was a move into a purer techno sound and whilst the follow up Bat Box may have been a misguided move into goth it the techno sound of the former disc she is known for as a DJ. Hell's last album, NY Muscle, was an attempt to distance himself from the obvious trappings of the electroclash genre and Tiga's debut wasn't remotely close to electroclash anyway. The only track Tiga has done that could be labelled as such is his collaboration with Zyntherius on their cover of 'Sunglasses At Night'.
What's more it seems that some semi-amateur hacks (and BlackPlastic puts themselves into the category) seem content with using the 'resurgence of electroclash' as a tool to beat up on Tiga specifically. In their recent review of Peaches I Like Cream Fact magazine said Tiga's comeback was best off ignored.
Which is total, complete, pathetic horseshit. Horseshit because it reeks of lazy sideswiping - an off the cuff comment to pad a two paragraph review. So here's the deal: Tiga's debut, Sexor, was a great record. And Ciao! is better.
To call Ciao! electroclash is to exposure yourself as a knowledge-less pretender to the whole world. This isn't electroclash, it's definitely closer to techno than that. What's more it has ideas and songs and the production is always spotless.
Every track, whether it is the quirky and hard 'Mind Dimension', a revision of Tiga's own 'Move Your Body' but much better, or the anthemic tears-on-the-danefloor closer 'Love Don't Dance Here Anymore', delivers something a little different. The production work of a team consisting of Soulwax, James Murphy, Gozales, Jesper Dahlbäck and Jori Hulkkonen shines through but Tiga still makes this all his own.
How does it compare to Sexor? There's no contest. Ciao! is a noisier, more assertive album. 'What You Need' is grinding and distorted to the sassy quirkiness of 'Shoes'. There are also several house ballads - 'Turn The Night On' and 'Speak, Memory' for example - that manage to actually deliver. Ciao! Is an album with both more variety and consistency than Sexor.
Ciao! may not be redefining genres. It may not be confounding expectations or giving wannabe hoxtonites something new no-one has heard of. But what it does do is consistently deliver ideas and deliver them well. If you are would rather snigger at the back because Tiga isn't the fashionable wünderkid he was once then so be it - BlackPlastic will be on the dancefloor having more fun.
fact, james murphy, jesper dahlback, jori hulkkonen, lcd soundsystem, soulwax, tiga, turbo in album review, review Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 07:43PM 
Some exciting news from Domino records - Franz Ferdinand are to re-release the dub version of Tonight, entitled Blood, on 1 June.
Originally packaged with the limited edition CD release of Franz Ferdinand's latest album, BlackPlastic's review of Tonight praised the dub version of the album for its experimental approach. Given the disc was only available in limited quantities the re-release represents a great opportunity to pick up what is easily Franz Ferdinand's best material in years. They have also added a couple of extra tracks to the original release and it will be available on LP and as a download for the first time. It's well worth checking out so look out for it.
Franz Ferdinand also release their next single, 'Can't Stop Feeling', on July 6. Again this represents a great opportunity to pick up something you may have missed before as it comes packaged with their cover version of LCD Soundsystem's 'All My Friends', which was originally included with LCD Soundsystem's release of their single for that track.
The band are also touring in October - check the website for more details.
BP x
domino, franz ferdinand, lcd soundsystem in news Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 06:40PM Too good not to share.
Those that have followed BlackPlastic long enough may remember our affection for 'New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down' and those that were paying close attention may recall a certain anonymous commentor's assertion that the opening verse sounds like Kermit the Frog.
Well the Guardian's Music Blog have posted a video in which Kermit performs said song, on location in New York. This is, frankly, genius - stay tuned for the bridge at 3:20 and even better, the twist at the end.
BP x
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The Obligatory Best of 2010 List - Part Two
Following on from Part One, here they are... Our favourite nine albums of 2010:
9. Crooks & Lovers - Mount Kimbie
This year saw dub step evolve. Having previously felt like an excuse for people who should know better to listen to garage some of the genre's pioneers began to, well, actually pioneer. And the innovation really came from combining the music with other genres. Mount Kimbie's debut is a perfect example - tempered with a bit of intelligent soul you suddenly had a classic on your hands, particularly on the standout 'Before I Move Off'.
8. Total Life Forever - Foals
It shouldn't really have worked... Following their acclaimed status prior to the release of their debut album (and subsequent fall from grace when it disappointed some), Foals returned with a more melodic, accessible and populist album. And it was also the best thing they have produced yet.
Criticism has been levelled at Total Life Forever on the basis that it contains too many songs to appeal to summer festival goers. Which basically means it has too many songs people will actually like. Go figure.
By stripping back the math-rock and building some actual songs Foals made an album containing several of this year's best songs. And it isn't just the sings that shine - the production work from Luke Smith is sublime - a gorgeous, melancholic, sun-bleached feeling runs through the record from the dip-in-the-pool-refreshment of 'Blue Blood' through to the desperate 'What Remains'. With not just one but two completely killer tracks ('Spanish Sahara' and '2 Trees') Total Life Forever is already shaping up to be one of 2010's most overlooked albums in the end of year roundups.
7. InnerSpeaker - Tame Imapala
Whatever you think of Tame Impala - little more than plunderers of the past or innovators kick starting a new genre - it's difficult not to get caught up in it all. Sure, the production is epic - thick basslines, rhythms punched out of solid steel and guitars that encircle the listener in proggy bliss - but it is the songs that will keep you coming back, particularly the apathetic bluesy closer 'I Don't Mind'... It's the stoner equivalent of La Roux's 'Bulletproof' and the weird rave bit halfway through never fails to surprise. Genius.
6. Black City - Matthew Dear
Potentially Dear's magnum-opus, Black City builds on everything that has come before and turns it into something original. Darker than ever, it straddles a variety of emotions, at turns alienated, sexually depraved and wounded and needy. 'You Put A Smell On Me' is like Nine Inch Nail's 'Closer' re-made for 2010 - pure, unadulterated filth of the sort that will have you singing things you really shouldn't in public.
5. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
BlackPlastic still isn't sure if The Suburbs is as good as either of the last two Arcade Fire albums but the fact that the question even lingers means this is an album that deserves a place on the list. A cleaner and sparser record, but potentially all the more weighty for it. On first listen it seemed to lack stand out moments but repeated listens just demonstrate that this is simply because every track is a highlight.
4. Klavierwerke - James Blake
Not an album but still one of this year's most significant releases, James Blake seems to be making it his personal mission to upset hardcore dub step fans by tearing up the rule book, taking the genre's best ideas and running off to make something entirely new with them. 'I Only Know (What I Know Now)' is the sound of a man learning from his past mistakes. It is also this year's most emotive five minutes.
3. Vampires With Dreaming Kids / Color Your Life - Twin Sister
Not an album but really a double pack EP, this nonetheless was the sound of one of 2010's most promising bands. With the stripped back aesthetic of the XX, the rawness of early Yeah Yeah Yeahs and what sounds like sterling taste in 1980s pop music at their best the influences combine to make something marvellous, as on the slow burning 'The Other Side of Your Face'. Twin Sister will be ones to watch in 2011.
2. This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem
If albums were judged on artwork alone This Is Happening would have owned this year. With its minimal type combined with that picture of James Murphy flying through the air in his suit it really felt like a statement of intent.
Whatever. This Is Happening is regardless one of the best things to come out of any stereo this year. With greater focus than Sound of Silver LCD's latest release felt more like a proper album. And with the monstrous bass of 'Dance Yrself Clean', the middle-aged-guy-having-an-epiphany gut-wrencher that is 'All I Want' and the subtly epic 'Home' it also had the tunes. It may not have another 'Someone Great' but it's the sound of one of our times' best bands all grown up.
1. Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus
It says a lot when a record has increasing amounts of praise heaped on it the longer it has been out. He may not have won a Grammy but he has made 2010's best album - a record that fuses genres like they don't even matter. The J Dilla comparisons are perhaps inevitable but Cosmogramma is no mere re-tread - it demonstrates that Flying Lots is one of the most innovative producers of our time.
So what are your thoughts? What did we miss?