Sound of Silver is the second studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. The album was released jointly through DFA and Capitol Records in the United States and EMI elsewhere, first on March 12, 2007, in the United Kingdom. Sound of Silver was produced by the DFA and recorded during 2006 at Long View Farm in North Brookfield, Massachusetts and DFA Studios in New York, New York. Upon release, Sound of Silver received acclaim from music critics, and it was later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. The group's later released an EP, entitled A Bunch of Stuff, which was composed entirely of covers, alternative versions, and remixes of songs from this album.
Recording and composition
James Murphy recorded Sound of Silver at the Long View Farm in Massachusetts, where he had previously recorded LCD Soundsystem's eponymous debut album. Murphy was uncomfortable recording his own vocals, calling the experience "horrifying". Murphy covered the entire studio in silver fabric and tin foil. For the recording of LCD Soundsystem's following album This Is Happening, Murphy brought one of the original pieces of silver fabric to the album's recording studio in Los Angeles and hung it in Rick Rubin's recording den, the Mansion.
Musically, Sound of Silver has been described as dance-punk, dance-rock, electronica, electronic rock, and indie rock. Some songs use instrumentals from the band's six-part, 46-minute long 2006 composition "45:33".
The album was 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. It is insinuated the loss of 'someone' in the track "Someone Great" is Kamen.
Release
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.
Reception
Sound of Silver received widespread critical acclaim and holds a score of 86 out of 100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic, based on reviews from 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The Guardians 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 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". Uncuts 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.
Commercial
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. As of January 2016, the album has sold about 225,000 copies in United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. About 123,000 of those are physical copies, and about 101,000 of those are digital copies. The album reached number 28 on the UK charts.
