Biography
Purveying a danceable indie rock sound heavily indebted to both post-punk and '80s synth pop, LCD Soundsystem was a key figure in the post-punk revival and electroclash movement that emerged in New York City in the early 2000s. The heart of the band was James Murphy, part of the storied DFA label and production team that introduced The Rapture, The Juan Maclean, and many more. Murphy founded LCD Soundsystem in 2001, blending guitar-oriented post-punk sounds with electronic dance music. Their 2002 debut single, "Losing My Edge," satirizing aging hipsters' claim to dominion on underground music, became a cult phenomenon. A series of singles over the next couple of years led to the release of the first, self-titled LCD Soundsystem album in 2005. The single "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" became a signature song for the band, which at this point included synth player Gavin Russom, vocalist Nancy Whang, bassist Tyler Pope, and drummer Pat Mahoney alongside frontman and multi-instrumentalist Murphy. They followed up with the album Sound of Silver two years later, with the single "All My Friends" becoming one of their most successful songs. This Is Happening was released in 2010, and became the band's highest-charting album up to that point, partially on the strength of the single "I Can Change." But despite hitting a peak, LCD Soundystem announced their imminent breakup in 2011. On April 2 of that year, they played a sold-out farewell concert at Madison Square Garden, which was documented in the film "Shut Up and Play The Hits" (2012). But it turned out LCD couldn't stay away forever. On Christmas Eve of 2015 they released a new song, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart." And the following year the band made a number of festival appearances, after which they began working on a new album.
