Categories : Electronica, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop, Top Rated.
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Rating: 4/5 Released: November 13, 2007 Reviewer: Andre Guimond |
Ever noticed how a full season of 24 really only runs for 17 hours 28 minutes? Where did the other 6-plus hours go? My gut feeling is that LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy noticed the aberration, and hated those lost hours so much that he gave a little back: hence why the previously iTunes-only Nike+ run series mix 45:33 – supposedly named after the length of his treadmill runs – generously plays at 46:02. In reality, my gut feeling is just as much bull as the story behind the album; Murphy called the mix 45:33 in a throwback to vinyl record speeds, he doesn’t run at all, and just used the whole thing as an excuse to produce a long-form record. But don’t let that turn you off: although this may not be the perfect 10km run mix it was sold to be, it’s still a pushing, restless, darkly-tinged exhibition of LCD Soundsystem’s hybrid funk-dance-disco style in full force.
45:33 works so well because of its meticulous focus on creating a palpable, consistent atmosphere. Like many of the band’s songs, the mix itself starts slowly, here with the sound effects to a 1980s 3D space flight sequence that phase out as claps and moody piano hits curl in. In the impeccably-mixed transitions into each of the following five parts that have been cut up from the single long-form for the album release, the mix’s mood is constantly re-established, bringing together all the different styles and sounds of each track to create a coherent whole.
Listening to it beginning to end gives a feeling of sad outcomes – like the mixed-up “Hey, your love away from me / You can’t hide†vocals sampled on the second track – and hopeful expectations. The beautiful bell loop weaved into rough, dark, pulsating bass on part three’s ‘Someone Great’ (that would later appear on Sound of Silver) captures the ambience perfectly and reflects the overall air of the entire mix.
If you were one of the many that grabbed 45:33 off iTunes and are wondering if a physical release warrants purchase, three extra tracks have been added so there is some extra value here. ‘Freak Out/Starry Eyes,’ which also appeared on the All My Friends EP, is 12 minutes of meandering jungle drum beats with a smooth bass line that funks out with about five minutes left. There’s also a remix of Sound of Silver’s ‘North American Scum’ that takes all the fun out of the original by killing most of the vocals, and the sans-vocals trend continues with closing newcomer ‘Hippie Priest Bum-Out,’ disappointing since Murphy’s voice has always added so much to his music. If the tacked-on tracks detract anything from the album, though, then the consistent, moving, darkly atmospheric mix that precedes them more than makes up for it.
