This is an amazing album. Many good albums (MGMT, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Dead Weather) and great albums (Spoon, Vampire Weekend, Foals, Sleigh Bells) have already come out this year, but James Murphy knocks it out of the park with his third effort. The music is slightly more expansive than Sound of Silver, as is the lyrical matter. Murphy can be heard examining both sides of a situation on "Pow Pow"(the album's catchy version of "Losing My Edge"), begging for tears on the dreamy Bowie-esqe "All I Want", and paying hommage to drunk girls on a fast-paced, guitar laden track of the same name. "One Touch" is a chugging, dark dance track and is not unlike LCD classics such as "Get Innocuous!" and "Sound of Silver". "I Can Change" is a funky, slower-paced dance ballad where Murphy points of the murderous qualities of love. "You Wanted a Hit" builds and explodes into stabbing guitars with lyrical matter cleverly bashing record companies. "Somebody's Calling Me" is a jazz crawl unlike most LCD songs. The opener and closer are both highlights. "Dance Yrself Clean" is so catchy, fresh, and altogether wonderful that it must be placed among the best LCD Soundsystem tracks to date, and "Home" very well might be the best, summing up an unforgettable evening in a matter of minutes. If you loved Sound of Silver, you will probably love this. However, there is something for everyone to love, and most will simply love everything. In a year with The Arcade Fire still to make an appearance, this album still might hold up as the best of 2010. Certainly, it is a highlight for Murphy and an album that can and will be enjoyed for years to come.
OVERALL: Five stars
HIGHLIGHTS: "Dance Yrself Clean", "All I Want", "Home" (all songs, however, are great)
