Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

When James Murphy dropped a little album by the name of Sound Of Silver in 2007 he achieved more fame and mainstream attention than anyone could have possibly anticipated. Perhaps more shockingly despite being a critical darling for years, no one really expected Mr. Murphy to create a truly transcendent album but that's exactly what he did with 2007's Sound Of Silver. The king of the New York avante guard music scene, James Murphy was always a trend setter, but there was a perception that he was too cool and too niche to make a universal touching and brilliant album, but remarkably he managed it. His last LP struck the perfect balance; it had all the slick beats, stylish posturing and all the coolest references but also managed to feel remarkably heartfelt. "All My Friends" and "New York I Love You But Your Bringing Me Down" gave Sound Of Silver the feeling of a mid life crisis LP, and as a result it was genuine emotive and more effecting than ironic. Therefore the expectation for LCD Soundsystem's full lenght follow up are sky high, especially after the success of the "45:33" extended play. Everyone is expecting LCD's follow up to sound great but will it be able to resonate emotionally in the way that Sound Of Silver did.

"Drunk Girls" unfortunately tells us little of the forthcoming LP, as it's the standard club banger we've come to expect from an LCD Soundsystem debut single. It feels spiritually tied to "North American Scum" with it's rumbling percussion, floaty segways and hand claps. The track also uses a call and repeat dynamic throughout with shouts of "Drunk Girls...Drunk Boys" it's all very catchy and the beat is surprisingly subversive, it doesn't leap out at you but it does slowly embedded itself in your consciousness. The real obvious nods musically go to Brian Wilson with some surf-rock flourishes and classic Beach Boys refrains and following in the mould of Sound Of Silver David Bowie appears to be a key influences with classic Heroes era Bowie guitar work dominating the track. So while "Drunk Girls" may not offer too many glimpses into the future of LCD it certainly shows James Murphy on absolute top form, as he fires off a seriously of wonderfully knowing and ironic one liners. This is a track made for people to shout out loud on a dance floor with punch lines coming thick and fast. Everyone will have their favourites but two lines stuck out in my mind as particularly brilliant were "Drunk Girls Are Abhorrently Wild" and "Sometimes Loves Gives Us Too Many Options, Just Because Your Hungry Doesn't Mean That Your Lean". "Drunk Girls" is an absolute riot and seems to be LCD's best hope since "North American Scum" to make a splash on the pop charts. It may not be LCD's most subtly work but it's without doubt one of their most addictive.