Albums to watch

American Dream

LCD Soundsystem

American Dream

Fourth album from James Murphy's Brooklyn dance-punk project and first since they reunited

ADM rating[?]

8.2

Label
Columbia
UK Release date
01/09/2017
US Release date
01/09/2017
  1. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    American Dream feels like Murphy's darkest record to date, and like previous LCD records, only gets better with repeat listens. In short, it's fucking glorious
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  2. 10.0 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    American Dream represents a high point for Murphy, not only as a songwriter, but also as a meticulous sonic architect and an exuberant performer
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  3. 10.0 |   NME

    ‘American Dream’ delivers, point by point, on everything you could want from an LCD Soundsystem album
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  4. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    An unavoidable question percolates through American Dream: are LCD Soundsystem ??also one of the greats?
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  5. 9.1 |   Paste Magazine

    A beautiful work of art about aging, regret and an arduous search for meaning. It’s an expansive record that explores a variety of sounds and themes, but it never feels confused or lost
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  6. 9.1 |   A.V. Club

    It’s on the 12-minute closer “Black Screen” that Murphy drops all pretense of cleverness and just speaks from the heart, offering a eulogy to his late hero David Bowie—a man he deems “between a friend and a father,” and someone who “talked to me like I was inside”
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  7. 9.0 |   Uncut

    American Dream is a triumph, then, and possibly LCD Soundsystem's finest album so far. Print edition only

  8. 9.0 |   The 405

    From head to toe, front to back, it bangs; but more importantly, it actually has something new to say
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  9. 8.8 |   Resident Advisor

    LCD Soundsystem have made a better album than they've ever done
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  10. 8.5 |   Pitchfork

    The rebirth of LCD Soundsystem is marked by an extraordinary album obsessed with endings: of friendships, of love, of heroes, of a certain type of geeky fandom, and of the American dream itself
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  11. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    American Dream is the upshot of a darker, older, wiser LCD Soundsystem
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  12. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    James Murphy wipes all of his sins clean with a familiar reunion record
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  13. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Like any other LCD Soundsystem album it will doubtless encourage folk onto their feet, and whilst Murphy may rue a perceived failure to connect, this is where he will unite others
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  14. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    If LCD Soundsystem’s American Dream is intended as a nostalgic cash-grab, it’s a piss poor one
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  15. 8.0 |   DIY

    This wasn’t ever going to be a bad album, was it?
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  16. 8.0 |   Crack

    Murphy had to earn our trust back with something meaningful; something worth the upset. With this poignant portrait of ageing and ennui in post-satire America, he has
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  17. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The shimmering score to James Murphy’s brave new world
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  18. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    It brings back the rush that listening to the band always has, and adds a compelling new dimension to the band's sound — a mature, realist darkness that they'd only hinted at previously
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  19. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Feels like a strong re-statement of what they do, and what they can mean, a record that, despite its fear of death, feels very much alive. Print edition only

  20. 8.0 |   Clash

    In returning to the project that best suits his sense of adventure, James Murphy has done nothing to tarnish what has gone before. ‘American Dream’ is a darker, more diverse record than its predecessors and a more human one too
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  21. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    A relentless, expansive, maddeningly funny set of songs asking how a lifetime of good intentions and hard work can blow up into such a mess
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  22. 8.0 |   State

    A statement from Murphy that he, that they, never really lost their edge
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  23. 8.0 |   All Music

    American Dream isn't just a triumphant comeback, it's another great album by a great band
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  24. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Lead single Call the Police is a riotous, celebratory track that bustles with energy and is offset beautifully by the title track – a shimmering, psychedelic waltz by comparison
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  25. 8.0 |   Mixmag

    ‘American Dream’ rocks, rolls, pops, fizzes and snaps
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  26. 8.0 |   Q

    Loss is a recurring theme: of youth, identity and, yes, edge. Print edition only

  27. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Beautiful, powerful and sincere
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  28. 8.0 |   The FT

    Measured by the hypnotic flow of beats, the songs convey the bittersweet knowledge of time passing
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  29. 8.0 |   The Observer

    The spectre of mortality stalks LCD’s comeback album but mainman James Murphy seizes the day in style
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  30. 7.5 |   Earbuddy

    There are even a couple of great songs — the title track and “tonite”. But there’s also some snoozefests like “how do you sleep?” and “black screen”
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  31. 7.0 |   Tiny Mix Tapes

    It’s not the path to completing the bourgeois revolution, but it’s a fine, American way to pass time
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  32. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    Murphy is a skilled producer with a deft ear for melody. But he’s somehow disrupted that valuable balance of humor and thoughtfulness found in LCD Soundsystem’s past with a more sedate offering that is riddled with mixed messages
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  33. 7.0 |   God Is In The TV

    It’s a successful comeback album – and hopefully will see Murphy stretch himself further on future albums
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  34. 7.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    At first blush this is clearly the least impressive and urgent LCD album
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  35. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    All told, if ‘American Dream’ is James Murphy’s Difficult Fourth Album, then it’s a pass
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  36. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Too many tracks suffer from a shortfall of melodic potency, and a lack of lateral development, especially in longer pieces such as the 12-minute sci-fi musings of “Black Screen” and the declamatory nine minutes of “How Do You Sleep?”
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