LCD Soundsystem

Few bands have kept pace with clubland’s changing trends as adroitly as New York City’s LCD Soundsystem. Led from the front by charismatic DJ, singer-songwriter, producer and DFA Records co-founder James Murphy, the group opened their account with their brilliantly caustic debut single, Losing My Edge, and became one of the industry’s hippest names to drop after issuing their self-titled 2005 debut album: a sparkling, Grammy-nominated amalgam of electro-pop, post-punk and funk starring their breakout hit, Daft Punk Is Playing At My House.

Lesser bands could easily have crumpled under the weight of expectation, yet Murphy and co continued to produce the goods. Consolidating on their debut, 2007’s Sound Of Silver featured many of the best LCD Soundsystem songs (All My Friends; Someone Great; Time To Get Away) and became a UK Top 30 success, while 2010’s aptly-titled This Is Happening went Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. When the group split for five years, following a huge show at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2011, the latter title seemed feted to remain their swansong, yet after a reunion tour in 2015, LCD Soundsystem bounced back with American Dream: a refinement of their original sound which drew favourable comparisons with David Bowie’s vaunted “Berlin Trilogy” and rewarded James Murphy’s charges with their first-ever US No. 1.