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LCD Soundsystem, "Yeah"

Yeah is one of two new platters of tasty wax from DFA Records, certainly the most name-checked label since anyone gave a shit about Warp Records. James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem hasn't released a new 12" single since 2002's "Losing My Edge," even though private edition tracks like "Tribulations" and "Where Is Love?" have been popping up on file-sharing services over the past year. Rather than officially releasing one of the aforementioned tracks, Murphy's Soundsystem has crafted a new track aimed straight at clubs: a massive, obnoxious punk-disco meltdown destined to be the set-closing favorite of DJs everywhere in coming months.

DFA

The song is irresistibly epic, beginning in familiar snotty dance-punk territory and gradually transforming into a jagged, overamped slab of retro acid mayhem. The appropriately titled Side A is called "Yeah (Stupid Version)," which begins with cookie-cutter disco basslines and snares, with Murphy et. al. intoning the irritating, repetitive lyrics over and over. Gradually, the track builds momentum and slowly replaces its organic elements with acid-house artillery. By the end, the pupil-dilating synths and ricochet rhythms are riding roughshod over the blissed-out dancefloor. Side B contains the "Pretentious Mix," which transorms "Yeah" into a sophisticated excursion into urbane, metropolitan electro-disco, not miles away from Metro Area's R&B-inflected lounge music. I liked this one a lot, and it makes me wonder if LCD Soundsystem might be able to pull a full-length LP out of their collective ass at some future point. 

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