LCD Soundsystem – X-Ray Eyes Review

Debuting a new track seven years after your previous album on a radio show without other announcements is a very James Murphy decision. It suits the band well, always playing the outsider and set to do the same with their first song post-Malahide Castle performance. James Murphy has made the most of this reunion, offering some of the band’s best works by maintaining an unpredictable edge. From the punchy and emotionally charged but somewhat minimalist appeal of American Dream to one of their finest tracks in New Body Rhumba, this return to the top has been a welcome one. Now, with new single X-Ray Eyes, the band positions themselves as an all-seeing set of eyes, able to pick apart an audience and their wrongdoings with an unusually cool stare. Flute solos barrelling through in place of electronic riffs, repetitive instrumental work and a step back from the momentum which carries their best work – it makes for another bold step.

The band are, once again, subverting expectations and their traditional sound. X-Ray Eyes is much slower in tempo than their usual run of work and relies too heavily on its instrumental repetition, but there is something wonderful within. Ghostly background noises and a monotone Murphy elevate this one. As with most LCD Soundsystem songs, there is an influential launch pad, a diving board of genre tropes for Murphy to tinker with and evolve from. Some unmistakable yet ripped-through sci-fi sounds make up the very constant instrumental backdrop of this. Murphy sprinkles a bit of his magic with nonsensical wordplay in moments which, if left unattended by the frontman, would feel like grinding out the song rather than pursuing experimental longevity. A song all about playing down social norms as a way of releasing and revealing your true self. 

Such is the message that forms the best parts of X-Ray Eyes, an alt-dance-styled piece with flickers of their debut to it. Crunching instrumentals and risky moments are found throughout which have all the hallmarks of a band with the same biting interest which guided their sound at the start. Catchy is the word for this one. Those simple-sounding instrumentals are rich in comfort and better still in their repetition. And yet their usual run of form has a catchy beat to it and a better momentum, a cooler sound than this. It feels very retro in spots and much of this is because of the instrumental floundering. Beyond this being a blind leap into new material from a much-loved band, there is little more to it than an instrumental section stretched to its very limit.  

X-Ray Eyes is the symptom of a wider problem LCD Soundsystem has tackled before. Interesting pockets of sound but with no idea where it begins or ends. Murphy and the gang chop through what they can. This is the right direction for LCD Soundsystem. Stylistically different to their previous efforts but the core of self-doubt remains. It feels like a decent bedfellow of New Body Rhumba – the need for a new physical presence and outlook on life expanded with beautiful flute breakdowns. X-Ray Eyes feels like a risky manoeuvre for a band which works best when they have punchy instrumentals. X-Ray Eyes has none of that but the heart of those catchy fundamentals signal the return of LCD Soundsystem doing what they do best. Experimenting. Ammunition for those still pretending to be wounded by the band’s decision to reunite, because it is not their best work. All we can do is wait and see where it leads. Away from dental hygienists, hopefully.