User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 238 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 10 out of 238

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  1. LeifH
    May 23, 2010
    10
    "And all I want is your pity. Oh all I want are your bitter tears." Unbelievably so good. I've been following LCD Soundsystem since I heard "Losing My Edge" floating around in '02. Now I don't want to say "I knew that this would be it," but I want to say something along those lines to a less douchey and less foreboding extent. So: I'm happy LCD Soundsystem pulled "And all I want is your pity. Oh all I want are your bitter tears." Unbelievably so good. I've been following LCD Soundsystem since I heard "Losing My Edge" floating around in '02. Now I don't want to say "I knew that this would be it," but I want to say something along those lines to a less douchey and less foreboding extent. So: I'm happy LCD Soundsystem pulled through with their third album not only because of its quality--lyrically, musically, and in regards to its production--but because it connects so well to me and gives me an urge to dance and be all alive-like. It's real nice, check it out. Expand
  2. Aug 13, 2010
    6
    This Is Happening had the potential to be one of the greatest EPs of this generation. Instead, James Murphy has produced an album of three or four hits, intertwined with shameless time-consuming noise.
  3. Nov 2, 2010
    7
    Certainly the weakest of the LCD albums and yet very, VERY similar to his previous ones. It's probably for the best that he's calling it a day. There's nothing inherently bad about this album; it is in fact rather good. BUT, none of the songs on 'This Is Happening' are quite as good as those on 'LCD Soundsystem' or 'Sound of Silver'. This album shows that, after 3 albums, the LCD sound hasCertainly the weakest of the LCD albums and yet very, VERY similar to his previous ones. It's probably for the best that he's calling it a day. There's nothing inherently bad about this album; it is in fact rather good. BUT, none of the songs on 'This Is Happening' are quite as good as those on 'LCD Soundsystem' or 'Sound of Silver'. This album shows that, after 3 albums, the LCD sound has now been stretched for as much as it's worth. I'm genuinely surprised it's metacritic score is as high as his others. Expand
  4. Aug 6, 2011
    10
    Along with Arcade Fire's The Suburbs and Josh Ritter's So Runs the World Away, this was my favorite album of 2010. I'd hate for this to be the last LCD Soundsystem album, but we'll always have "Home".
  5. Oct 8, 2011
    10
    The best but last album of this great project by James Murphy gets to it's end with remarkable songs and different lyrics. Not as great as Sound Of Silver, but great at the same way, songs like "I Can Change" e "Drunk Girls" show us that mr. Murphy might be the creative genious we-ve been looking for.
  6. ChelvisM
    Jun 9, 2010
    5
    By far LCD's worst effort yet. A sad recycling of the other albums. These lyrics are whack.
  7. mg
    May 19, 2010
    3
    This guy wants so much being the new talking heads that it hurts.
  8. Luke
    May 19, 2010
    0
    Wow, this album is the extreme opposite of the last, which was amazing, except for "All My Friends." I think he let that song get to his head...this album is just so dull and one-dimensional. It really goes nowhere. People only love it because they're supposed to. It's really sad that he has to end it like THIS.
  9. Zeus
    May 18, 2010
    0
    "...it doesn
  10. joycek
    May 27, 2010
    0
    Wow, I did not enjoy this at all! Way too slow and boring.
  11. Nov 12, 2010
    1
    It is despicable that this is tagged with dance-punk so often, when this truly holds no regards to anything of the sort, especially in this day and age of electronic dominance within music. This sounds to be stuck in the late-seventies, drenched in horribly bland white-man's funk (read as: Talking Heads), with no appeal or impact of any regard to be had. A continuing trend for this band.It is despicable that this is tagged with dance-punk so often, when this truly holds no regards to anything of the sort, especially in this day and age of electronic dominance within music. This sounds to be stuck in the late-seventies, drenched in horribly bland white-man's funk (read as: Talking Heads), with no appeal or impact of any regard to be had. A continuing trend for this band. Their 2007 album was less expressive than their debut. The good news is, they can't get any worse. Expand
  12. Oct 6, 2011
    10
    When "New York I love you" I literally cried. Great album for a great band. I had the pleasure of seeing their final concert, I will never forget it
  13. Jan 6, 2015
    2
    What a load of junk, it sound cheap and computer-generated. There is no actual melody, even the voices are composed from 3 to 5 notes in no sensible way. I guess some teens are finding hidden meanings in all of it, otherwise I can't imagine how this is getting a good score. 2 out of 10, because at least it has a beat.
  14. TonyN
    May 20, 2010
    8
    I guarantee you James Murphy is going to pull a Jay-Z and make 15 other albums.
  15. DexStud
    May 19, 2010
    10
    Best dance album ever!!! Every track builds slowly and climaxes into audio splendor! Even better than Sound of Silver.
  16. Christopher
    May 20, 2010
    8
    More of the same. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
  17. GeoffT
    May 18, 2010
    10
    Brilliant!
  18. RodrigoT
    May 18, 2010
    9
    Very great album!
  19. KevinG.
    May 19, 2010
    10
    Really really good.
  20. MarkF
    May 20, 2010
    9
    This is an excellent album, I'd say better than Sound of Silver. I don't really feel like writing much more, but I could go on for a while.
  21. THall
    May 26, 2010
    7
    I was worried Murphy was going to mess it up after the brilliance and success of Sound of Silver, one of the previous decade's best. Like that record, it starts well, with Dance Urself Clean, and Murphy, after stumbling with Drunk Girls and One Touch, really hits his stride with All I Want, a great Bowie homage. After that, its mostly great, with the exception of Somebody's I was worried Murphy was going to mess it up after the brilliance and success of Sound of Silver, one of the previous decade's best. Like that record, it starts well, with Dance Urself Clean, and Murphy, after stumbling with Drunk Girls and One Touch, really hits his stride with All I Want, a great Bowie homage. After that, its mostly great, with the exception of Somebody's Calling Me; You Wanted a Hit and Home are especially great. Shame its his last really. Expand
  22. JackG
    May 31, 2010
    9
    The weird thing is, that allthough I hadn't heard these songs before, on first listen it felt so familliar. 'Pow Pow' has massive simillarities to 'I'm Losing my Edge', and 'Someone is Calling Me' to 'Sound of Silver'. I guess this kind of feels like an upgrade to their last album, everything is better here, but theres few areas explored The weird thing is, that allthough I hadn't heard these songs before, on first listen it felt so familliar. 'Pow Pow' has massive simillarities to 'I'm Losing my Edge', and 'Someone is Calling Me' to 'Sound of Silver'. I guess this kind of feels like an upgrade to their last album, everything is better here, but theres few areas explored that havent already been. Although this is mainly because Murphy hasn't left a stone unturned on his search for the right sound over his four studio albums. how this got a slighlty worse score than 45:33 I'll never know. Expand
  23. drunkenstepdadrummy
    Jun 5, 2010
    10
    j. murphy et. al. are maturing. "derivative"?, nah, a lot of homage to best-of 80's dance pop and some of these tunes are ass shakers while others aint. innovative, memorable contributions from all the player's. i like it, i spent the $ & bough it, no regrets. actually is happening, actually a bit of a landmark.
  24. SteveA
    May 18, 2010
    6
    At some point between LCD Soundsystem
  25. andrewc
    May 18, 2010
    7
    Enjoyable but not mind-blowing.
  26. Nick
    May 22, 2010
    9
    The album proclaims "You wanted a hit/Well maybe we don't do hits". If the charts were up to me, LCD Soundsystem would have had loads of hits by now.
  27. MaxK
    May 23, 2010
    8
    Slightly disappointed with this album after the stellar Sound of Silver. Just a tiny bit too much balladry on here IMO. Still pretty kick-ass, though. Recommended.
  28. ShannonT
    May 27, 2010
    10
    This is the best album of 2010!
  29. Oct 25, 2011
    8
    LCD Soundsystem end on a good note. While this isn't as good as Sound of Silver, it's certainly better than their debut. I found this album to be a grower requiring multiple listens to really get into it.
  30. Sep 14, 2010
    9
    A hip, rocking album that puts other artists to shame, "Happening" has a lot of great jams and snyth tech beats, chugging along with LCD's off-beat lyrics its a must have for this year best music.
  31. Oct 21, 2010
    10
    I can't stop listening to this album. The Dance Yourself Clean track is addicting. Please check it out this album. I love the genuine, and positive spirit and feel to the music and lyrics, you would have to quite thick headed not to percieve and appreciate this. Love it.
  32. Nov 22, 2010
    7
    The album should've been revisited before release, although the most beautiful thing about this album is that it's actually fun to listening to, but some of the songs need some editing for run time.
  33. Apr 8, 2011
    9
    They say it's better to quit while still on top, and this is LCD at it's best. May not be as good as the magnificent Sound of Silver but it certainly holds its own. Now LCD has released 3 great albums, enough to earn a distinguished place in music history.
  34. Mar 22, 2011
    7
    Yep, Talking Heads + Enoesque sounds + a bit of Bowie (without the amazing voice). Starts fantastically with Dance Yrself Clean, and never reaches the same height again. Drunk Girls is very annoying and unlistenable. There's some good stuff like All I want and I Can Change, but doesn't do much for me. I don't see the genius. Bringing back old 80's sounds, and making them fresh again isYep, Talking Heads + Enoesque sounds + a bit of Bowie (without the amazing voice). Starts fantastically with Dance Yrself Clean, and never reaches the same height again. Drunk Girls is very annoying and unlistenable. There's some good stuff like All I want and I Can Change, but doesn't do much for me. I don't see the genius. Bringing back old 80's sounds, and making them fresh again is admirable, but I think he is overhyped. -each of the first 5 albums by the talking heads is better. Collapse
  35. Apr 28, 2011
    10
    This album is jumpin! groovy as hell. Funky electronic sounds, great beats, great drummer- he just fits with the music. Under some circumstances, it just sounds reminiscent of the 80's, but it is oh so fresh at the same time. Eclectic, cool, bright and interesting lyrics. Thick electronic bass lines, melody lines. The quality on the CD sounds amazing, well mixed and recorded, well putThis album is jumpin! groovy as hell. Funky electronic sounds, great beats, great drummer- he just fits with the music. Under some circumstances, it just sounds reminiscent of the 80's, but it is oh so fresh at the same time. Eclectic, cool, bright and interesting lyrics. Thick electronic bass lines, melody lines. The quality on the CD sounds amazing, well mixed and recorded, well put together with no gaps and no distortion or filler underneath, everything placed perfectly but perfectly wild for the creativity to leap out of the music. Needless to say, the songs aren't dull, this album will have bouncing. Expand
  36. j30
    Feb 1, 2012
    9
    This Is Happening was my favorite record from 2010. The LP has more of a rock sound than previous efforts, but still shows electronic flare. LCD Soundsystem will be missed.
  37. Feb 16, 2012
    8
    A very enjoyable record and a pity it's LCD's last. The opener Dance Yrself Clean is as good an album introduction as you'll ever here. Followed up by the single Drunk Girls keeps things flowing along nicely. The whole record has got a sound from another time - for some reason New York of the 80's comes to mind when I listen to it. That may just be me but this record definitely stands outA very enjoyable record and a pity it's LCD's last. The opener Dance Yrself Clean is as good an album introduction as you'll ever here. Followed up by the single Drunk Girls keeps things flowing along nicely. The whole record has got a sound from another time - for some reason New York of the 80's comes to mind when I listen to it. That may just be me but this record definitely stands out amongst other releases of the year for sounding different to anything else. The records centre piece Can Change is a typical example and sounds like something Gary Numan would come out with. Expand
  38. Jan 28, 2012
    9
    The magic of the electronic LCD reached lofty levels. It's a unique feeling listening to songs like "All I Want" and "I Can Change." Wonderful album, where the limits are impossible in our hands.
  39. Jan 15, 2016
    9
    Favourite Songs: Dance Yrself Clean, Drunk Girls, One Touch, I Can Change, You Wanted A Hit
    Least Favourite Songs: Somebody's Calling Me
    Since LCD Soundsystem are getting back together I think it's only fitting that I celebrate by revisiting their last LP 'This Is Happening' to remind myself how great the band were because they were amazing and after listening to this album I think
    Favourite Songs: Dance Yrself Clean, Drunk Girls, One Touch, I Can Change, You Wanted A Hit
    Least Favourite Songs: Somebody's Calling Me
    Since LCD Soundsystem are getting back together I think it's only fitting that I celebrate by revisiting their last LP 'This Is Happening' to remind myself how great the band were because they were amazing and after listening to this album I think anyone would find it hard to disagree. Although James Murphy might claim to not know how to make a hit I think nearly every song on here stands strongly on their own as a hit, especially songs like 'I Can Change' and 'Drunk Girls' which feel just as familiar at this point as any Beatles record- the ones you discover and feel like you've known for years. I'm not suggesting that LCD Soundsystem will become ingrained into culture like The Beatles, that would be ridiculous they're nowhere near as big but at the moment they do have a certain familiarity to their music, in my opinion anyway. This is the best electronic/dance album I've heard this decade for two reasons. Firstly, Murphy's lyrics are loveably awkward and very self aware. Secondly, the band don't tie themselves down with song structures, they really let the songs spiral out over however long it takes for them to be properly explored (the only kind of radio-friendly track is 'Drunk Girls' at about 4 minutes) leading to a lot of really fun progressive dance tracks that aren't afraid to take some risks, although a risk I've always been on the line with is their choice of a really out of tune noise over the top of some extremely simple piano chords on 'Somebody's Calling Me'. It works for me sometimes if I don't think too much, it's just a track I think could have been cut down as it doesn't really go into any exciting or particularly fun territory. That's really my only complaint about this album though. That and the track order. Apart from that it's damn near perfect. Can't wait for their new album.
    Better Than Previous Project?: Yes
    Try This If You Like: Gloss Drop by Battles
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  40. Aug 29, 2017
    10
    One of the greatest albums ever made, certainly my favourite album up to this point. It's a near-perfect pastiche of dance music and rock, Murphy liberally borrows from many of his favourite artists from the 80s and adds the classic LCD Soundsystem synth sounds along with his lyrical wit to bring the sound of the 80s into the 21st century.

    You know it's good to be good when the beat
    One of the greatest albums ever made, certainly my favourite album up to this point. It's a near-perfect pastiche of dance music and rock, Murphy liberally borrows from many of his favourite artists from the 80s and adds the classic LCD Soundsystem synth sounds along with his lyrical wit to bring the sound of the 80s into the 21st century.

    You know it's good to be good when the beat drops in the opening track 'Dance yrself clean' (which is quite possibly the best opener of all-time) and the album consistently lives up to the energy it creates; 'All I want' borrows the guitar riffs from 'David Bowie's 'Heroes' to create a brilliant love song; 'Home', the Talking Heads inspired closer, which is arguably even better than 'Dance yrself clean' and the strong point of the album, brings 'This is Happening' to a close with the line 'so good night' which is the perfect way to end a perfect album.

    A masterpiece.
    Expand
  41. Apr 24, 2018
    9
    Though I'm glad this didn't end up being their last album, if it had, I don't see how James and the Soundsystem could have gone out any better
  42. Apr 15, 2018
    9
    9/10.......................................................................
  43. Jul 2, 2021
    9
    This is happening sounds like disappointments. Reaching the end only to realize it wasn't worth the set up. Niether of this is negative in fact it's the album and Murphy's strength . The alleged "final" release feels like a wrap up of what LCD Soundsystem is :critique of aging. Paranoia still persists as if it is never going to get easier. The stellar opener begins with a shortThis is happening sounds like disappointments. Reaching the end only to realize it wasn't worth the set up. Niether of this is negative in fact it's the album and Murphy's strength . The alleged "final" release feels like a wrap up of what LCD Soundsystem is :critique of aging. Paranoia still persists as if it is never going to get easier. The stellar opener begins with a short instrumental of skittered beats followed by a "meditation " on solitude. None of Murphy's humour is wasted as his perspective widens with age. He goes on to discuss self, how fixed it can be then builds to a chorus about the change he denied just verses ago. Here redemption is through expression and whether you believe it or not he makes it fun enough to try.
    The kraut rock of "drunk girls" is so invigorating. There's a sense of fun throughout even when it touches (vaguely) on dark subjects of partying. The title itself is a warning. Like on the monumental anti - masterpiece, he never lets a song keep one meaning. He uses a narrative of a distanced observer and walks through the diffrent rooms of a hot, pulsing party. Walking long past bathroom lines, wild drunks and vulnerable women "drunk girls like to file complaints " and having his own existential worries seeping in just before sunrise crashes the night. The dance track "one touch" is more performative than meaningful. Reminiscent of the title track of the grand "sound of silver":repetition is weaponized not strung along. But even at their most surface level they discus uncertainty both in people we meet and ourselves.
    The next two tracks "all i want"&"i can change " channel optimism and nilhism in equal measure as it attempts to conceptualize the feelings and events related to love. Is love growth or stationary? Should you be someone else to receive it and is it worth all the pain? According to LCD Soundsystem it is(&isnt).
    The final half isn't as "fun " as it reaches an emotional denouement. The hilarous"you wanted a hit" delights in the inability to completely stay true even when it isn't beneficial not to be. "Pow pow" is just self depreciation at it's most beautiful. The album highlight and penultimate track :"home" is what the entire record had been saying. It explores belonging,fear of faliure,recovery and growth. It feels like the sequel to the poignant "someone great" .over all this was an amazing addition to their already successful discography. Favourites:home,dance yrself clean,drunk girls
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Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. This Is Happening suffers no shortage of really great songs. Each track is a well-executed study in the finer points of the long form, each thumping and building, wavering and shifting in the haze of its own self-contained ecosystem.
  2. While it’s certainly still working for him now—This Is Happening is, in all respects, LCD’s best album—it doesn’t take much to imagine the act becoming a tired gag a couple more albums down the line.
  3. 80
    What keeps Murphy from being an insufferable know-it-all is how he folds deeper emotions into his references....Older, snottier, his edge remains.