LCD Soundsystem's second album opens with a rickety drum-machine clearly intended to recall "Losing My Edge," James Murphy's breakout hit. It's a typically clever, self-deprecating gag, but the punchline works. Sound of Silver is miles beyond his debut — it's fuller, richer, more daring and more confident, a stew of brittle electro, supple funk-punk and endearingly loose indie rock. John Cale's chugging pianos fuel "All My Friends," and you can hear trace elements of Detroit techno and Chicago house in the drum-machine programming and growling synthesizers. Brian Eno's influence on the production is fleetingly audible, but far less than it would be on follow-up, This Is Happening.

The anxiety of influence is a major theme in Murphy's work, but on Silver he seems driven more by the fear that LCD might be associated too closely with any one style or idea. So the cheeky "Get Innocuous!" evolves from the spindly "Losing My Edge" groove into sad psychedelic disco. "Time to Get Away" employs an understated funk jam to underscore one of Murphy's meditations on the dysfunctional nature of human relationships; "North American Scum" is gonzo dance-punk with a typically conflicted message. Every song, really, has something going for it; even… read more »