American Dream
by LCD Soundsystem
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Sep 1, 2017
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 203 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 180 out of 203
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 203
  3. Negative: 12 out of 203
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  1. EludiumQ36
    Sep 3, 2017
    3
    Note that I'm not a core-fan of LCDSS, so this isn't going to be a 9/10 rating like the others. It's very hard to rate music like this, so I'm just going to rate its effect on me and the likelihood for me to buy it and/or recommend it. I've read several industry pub reviews on the album so I'd have some frame of reference for evaluating. Most, if not all, praise the new effort, but I findNote that I'm not a core-fan of LCDSS, so this isn't going to be a 9/10 rating like the others. It's very hard to rate music like this, so I'm just going to rate its effect on me and the likelihood for me to buy it and/or recommend it. I've read several industry pub reviews on the album so I'd have some frame of reference for evaluating. Most, if not all, praise the new effort, but I find it hard to listen to. It uses a lot of noisy, rhythmic drumming with discordant strings so it comes off as audibly offensive. As such, most of this is listen once and forget, you're not going to playlist any of this. Only three tracks - oh baby, call the police and american dream - are even close to radio friendly and at 6+ mins each they'd have to be cut and re-pkg'ed for radio. As with industry pubs, I did detect a lot of musical/rhythm influence from the 80s, and in a few cases the Talking Heads in particular, though I think "oh baby" recalls Spandau Ballet. Also, most if not all these tracks would've sounded better, been more tolerable with a soft female vocalist. Lead singer James Murphy just doesn't have an attractive vocal style at all and his falsetto in "american dream" was just labored. Why not use a female's vocal talent, especially after a 7yr break? Vulture.com noted that Murphy had a stated fear about LCD being overdue for a flop after three sterling studio albums. "American Dreams" might be that flop, won't buy/recommend.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best Album of 2017
59
#59 Most Discussed Album of 2017
40
#40 Most Shared Album of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 37
  3. Negative: 1 out of 37
  1. Magnet
    Oct 17, 2017
    90
    American Dream is, in purely sonic terms, their richest, most viscerally pleasurable record yet, rife with layered, polyrhythmic percussion and an encyclopedic array of synth textures. [No. 147, p.56]
  2. The Wire
    Oct 11, 2017
    30
    His cartoonish vocals remain charmless, his lyrics as tediously self-referential as ever. [Oct 2017, p.57]
  3. Record Collector
    Sep 14, 2017
    100
    Old sweetens the deal, with tracks as good as anything from previous releases. However it’s New that intrigues, confuses, saddens and ultimately tempts you back with its sheer vulnerability--this is far deeper than the cash grab landfill this reunion could’ve spawned.
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