James Murphy may have crafted his finest masterpiece with This Is Happening. The album opener 'Dance Yrslf Clean' is long, yet fun and reminds me a lot of The Rapture, minus that bands indie-dance posturing. 'Drunk Girls' may be the catchiest single this year, and has the best video I have seen in ages. 'One Touch' has a very kraut-pop feel, with a cheerleader chorus, and joyfully bounces between Eno/Bowie and Kraftwerk influences. 'All I Want' with it’s deep, repetitive keyboards helps you imagine what it would have sounded like if Thomas Dolby had been a member of the Psychedelic Furs, it’s dark and nostalgic, with a nice bit of noise towards the end. 'I Can Change' once again lays out a Thomas Dolby feel , using repetitive beats, a repetitive chorus, some 808’s and echoing keys to make a rather nostalgic feeling dance song.
'You Wanted A Hit' is a nice song about frustrations with the record industry. 'Pow Pow' mixes a very tribal beat , sporadic guitar, and talking vocals to nice effect creating the feeling of being in a dream. 'Somebody’s Calling Me' is another inspired by Berlin era Bowie with a tune very reminiscent of Iggy Pop's Nightclubbing. 'Home' returns to the Talking Heads world beat feel, takes some very Eno keyboards and Byrne-esque melodies, and does a lovely job closing out the album.
It’s weird, because I spend a lot of time talking about influences on this album, but it doesn’t sound derivative, or even like it’s ripping people off. It just manages to be a fun ode to the past, that makes you want to dance.
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