LCD soundsystem frontman James Murphy claims that this is the final record and as a conclusion it is definitive but then again so were the previous albums. The album opens with a synthpop tune straight from 1985 called "I can change", a song which seems incongruent until Murphy begins singing, infusing the bouncy pop synthesizers with his biting lyrics: "I can change if it will help you fall in love". Murphy seems to slip into a different voice for each song which gives them each a different tone. On "I can change" his voice is full of emotion and whereas on "Dance yrself clean" he sings with restraint, through grinding teeth like David Byrne. Where this album really differs from previous records is the Bowie influence. The LCD electro-funk sound has been mixed with obvious Bowie inspiration. The guitar on "All I want" is deliciously reminiscient of Bowie's "Heroes"(slightly sped up) and the more electronic songs like use the cold,electronic guitars and synth sound which reminiscient of Bowie's berlin trilogy with Brian Eno. This new influence mixes well with the LCD formula of funk bass and tight, quick drumming.
Murphy's lyrics are more compelling this time around, he's striving to transcend the life of leisure and the pursuit of pleasure, he is trying to get out of solipsistic apathy: " I am amazed at my decision to play". The songs have an expansive quality to them; the start off as bare electronic skeletons and then the band add their parts but the song maintains an element of unpredictability. The first single of "This is Happening" Drunk Girls is an entertaining, accessible dance song. Some of the songs can be a bit torpid, "Somebody's calling me" tries to emulate Iggy Pop's "nightclubbing" but just seems more lethargic than anything else. Whether or not this is actually their last album, The songs articulate a desire for something more substatial, what that is exactly remains uncertain as Murphy doesn't explicitly say what he is striving for
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