The DFA debut from longtime family member Jayson Green also marks the return of the classic DFA twelve-inch. Maybe it actually stands for Dying Formats Always?
Jay’s sung in a lot of bands. Like, a lot. Panthers, Violent Bullshit, Cheeseburger, and the legendary hardcore band Orchid. There are probably more. He’s always been smart and hilarious, never quite cynical though always quick to point out the absurd.
Now in a bandleader role, he’s delivered us a classic a-side in “Local Jerk,” which sounds like a party because it was actually recorded during one: tight disco drums, big claps, a neck-rolling baseline, horns, and group vocals. You can literally hear the bottles clinking.
The head trip is the b-side, “I Need Love,” which is a most terrifying, ridiculous piece of nightlife satire. CREDITS
Produced by W. Andrew Raposo and James Murphy
Mixed by James Murphy for the DFA
Mixing Assisted by Korey Richey
Mastered and Cut by Robert “Sparklebear” Weston at Chicago Mastering Service
Pressed at Furnace Recording Pressing in Alexandria, VA
Gang Vocals by Emma Kadar-Penner, Stevie Levy, Mary Meyer, Nancy Whang, and Monika Heidemann
Additional Production, Drums and Bass Guitar by Nick Millhiser
Additional Bass Guitar and Rhythm Guitar by W. Andrew Raposo
Lead Guitar by James Murphy
Percussion by Caito Sanchez
Saxophone and Flute by Matt Parker
Trumpet by Carter Yasutake
Spiritually Consulted by Al Doyle
Vocals by Jayson Green
Drum Programming and Bass Guitar by W. Andrew Raposo
Additional Drum Programming, Sequencers, Synths and Piano by David Mason
Guitars by Byron Kalet
Saxophone by Matt Parker
"The Long Goodbye. " is the complete, unabridged recording of LCD Soundsystem’s April 2, 2011 “farewell” show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Spanning 3 hours of music across 28 songs, this remains the band's lengthiest, most career-spanning show to date, with the core live band of James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, Nancy Whang, Al Doyle, Gavilán Rayna Russom and Tyler Pope joined by a choir, string and horn sections — plus special guest performances including Reggie Watts, the Juan MacLean, Shit Robot, Planningtorock, and Shannon Funchess of LIGHT ASYLUM.
Bright AF for your spring and summer. Single color pocket print on a Comfort Colors 1717 Neon Lemon blanks.
Improving non-stop. Single color pocket print and two color sleeve print on Ivory Comfort Colors 1717 blanks.
As photographer Tim Soter says in the preface, "This book is for the fans. It's for the gearheads, the photo nerds, the party people, the music plus ones and the plus nones. It's for the artists themselves, who can expect to see a few photos they haven't seen before. This book is for those who got turned on to DFA after the fact and of course, it's for the ones who were there." 160 pages with 111 color and 35 black and white photos; portraits, parties, candids, office and studio documentation, live performances. Every purchase includes a 4x6 print shown in the product shot (turntable and homemade slipmat). All books are signed.
The album that, in many ways, started it all. Repressed for the first time since its release in 2003. Produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy for the DFA. Pressed at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC from lacquers cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.
Marcus Lambkin aka Shit Robot is, in many ways, as pure DFA as anyone else. He’s been here since before the beginning, a centrifugal force pulling everyone together, an anchor of no-nonsense style and humor that is as core to our being as the fucking lightning bolt.
We’ve put out a lot of Shit Robot records. They’re all great. But it’s been a minute since the last one. (Life happens.)
Earlier this year, the drought ended when Marcus sent some demos he’d been toiling away on in the attic. We loved them immediately. They were raw and rudimentary tracks that felt completely unbothered with where they might fit in and what year it was. They were sharp and smart, the sound of the party where we wanted to be. He went to Al Doyle’s place in London to finish them off, and then James mixed everything here at DFA. Bob mastered it, naturally. Somewhere along the way, Suzi Horn from Prinzhorn Dance School and Mutado Pintado from Warmduscher added two incredible vocals as only they could. It’s 5 Songs, both the name of it and the thing itself. Nominative determinism. 5 complete belters.
CREDITS Marcus Lambkin: synths, drums, and vocalsRecorded at the No Hassle Castle in Riet by Marcus Lambkin and RAE in London by Al Doyle
Additional recording at DFA Studios in Brooklyn by Korey Richey
Mixed by James Murphy for the DFA
Mastered by Robert "Sparklebear" Weston
Photography and hair by Mary Lambkin
A DFA Design product
Pressed at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC
This Is Happening 2xLP" />
This Is Happening 2xLP" />
This Is Happening 2xLP" />
This Is Happening 2xLP" />
This Is Happening 2xLP" />
Of the many arresting moments that fill LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening, perhaps the most unexpected comes less than halfway through album opener "Dance Yrself Clean." The seemingly unassuming, low-key rumble of a song morphs from its mumbled beginnings into an outsized flash of synth ballast and wailing vocals. The sudden shift is like the flicking on of a light, the perfect example of frontman-songwriter-mastermind James Murphy's effortless balance of restraint and release, organic rock and electro pop, and muted cool and vibrant emotion. This study in contrasts pervades LCD Soundsystem's third, and possibly final, release--an album where Murphy refracts images of heartbreak and longing through the scattered light of a disco ball. The cautious observations and honest reveals that follow are literally and figuratively quieter moments than that initial blare. On "All I Want," against a wall of whirling guitar, Murphy recognizes a relationship that can't be saved, and instead asks for "your pity" and "your bitter tears." "Get Along" shuffles over pulsing keys and bubbling percussion as Murphy tries to bridge physical and emotional distance, singing, "You might forget, forget the sound of a voice / Still, you shouldn't forget the things we laughed about." Conversely, the sparsely decorated, sauntering "Somebody's Calling Me" is almost hopeful in comparison: "Somebody's calling me" Murphy half whispers, "to be my girl." There are stretches of lyrical levity here, too. "You Wanted a Hit," which sits atop shiny synths, a driving bass-line and layers of handclaps, laments record label demands on what turns out to be one of the album's hookiest tracks. "Pow Pow" veers toward past "talkies" like "Losing My Edge," and features keyboardist Nancy Whang shouting in unison with Murphy. With This Is Happening, Murphy has created a work of both nuanced introspection and distanced observation. DFA is proud to offer the vinyl version of this much lauded release, which also includes contributions from drummer Pat Mahoney and sound collagist Gavin Russom.
