Sound of Silver

History

Songs in the Sound of Silver, notably "Someone Great," feature parts of the 2006 LCD Soundsystem release 45:33.

For several weeks before and after the album's release the entire album was available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The video for the track "North American Scum" was also posted to the band's MySpace on February 8, 2007.

On March 12, 2007, to coincide with its official UK release, an underground remix version of the album was released online in aid of charity.

The album reached number 28 in the UK charts. James Murphy stated that he would like the album to be in the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Charts. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 46.

The album is dedicated to "the memory of Dr. George Kamen (1942-2006), one of the great minds of his or any generation." The Bulgarian-born doctor was a pioneer of group therapy and had opened a practice in New York City.

"Get Innocuous" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game radio station Radio Broker and "Us v Them" is featured in Burnout Dominator and Burnout Paradise.

Critical reception

Sound of Silver received widespread critical acclaim and holds a score of 86 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey singled out the "devastating emotional punch" of "Someone Great" and "All My Friends" for praise and described the album as "dance-rock for grown-ups: extraordinary." Andy Kellman of AllMusic felt that Sound of Silver, compared to LCD Soundsystem, was "less silly, funnier, less messy, sleeker, less rowdy, more fun, less distanced, more touching." Los Angeles Times critic Ann Powers wrote that Murphy "succeeds by stretching in two directions -- finding a new musical center, and showing his humanity beyond the laughs." Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork Media complimented Murphy's production sense and the album's "deep, spacious, and full-blooded" sound, concluding that "it's an absolute joy to listen to, for every possible reason, not the least of which is because, these days, those epiphanies feel like they're coming fewer and farther between."

Tim Jonze of NME wrote that while "Murphy's wise enough never to let his showing off spoil the fun, he can't avoid investing these songs with heart and soul... that's what'll keep you hooked long after the beats have worn you out". Uncut's John Mulvey stated that "Murphy's talent is to proudly flaunt his influences, and to mix them up with belligerence, an exhilarating grasp of rock and dance dynamics, and a powerfully snarky sense of humour." Robert Christgau, writing in MSN Music, remarked that the album contained "one song so irresistible it makes you think the other tracks are songs too, which sometimes they are," later assigning it a two-star honorable mention rating.

By the end of 2007, it was ranked by Metacritic as the tenth best-reviewed album of the year.

Accolades

In December 2007, Sound of Silver was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album, eventually losing to We Are the Night by The Chemical Brothers. The album was also nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, where it lost out to The Reminder by Feist.

It was also named album of the year by The Guardian, Uncut and Drowned in Sound. Pitchfork Media named two of the album's tracks ("Someone Great" and "All My Friends") in the top ten tracks of 2007 and the album itself was named the second best album of 2007. Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone both ranked it as the 7th best album of 2007. In 2008 Entertainment Weekly ranked it as one of the top 50 albums of the last 25 years. In January 2008, it was named the album of the year in both the 2007 Village Voice Pazz & Jop and Idolator Pop '07 polls. Time magazine named "All My Friends" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #4.

In 2009, Pitchfork Media named the track "All My Friends" as the second best song of the decade, while a month later Sound of Silver was ranked at number 17 in the website's list of the best albums of the 2000s. Rhapsody ranked the album at number five on its "100 Best Albums of the Decade" list. It was also named the twenty-third best album of the decade by Resident Advisor.

In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 395 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All tracks written by James Murphy, unless otherwise noted.

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.