Sound of Silver

Murphy covered the studio in silver fabric and tin foil, found recording his own vocals horrifying, and said he wanted to make a top-forty album. Several pieces came out of 45:33, the long running mix he had made for Nike the year before; Someone Great appears there as an instrumental. The album is dedicated to the memory of Dr. George Kamen, described in the notes as one of the great minds of his or any generation. Dave Sardy mixed it with Murphy, and a small string section plays on several songs.

Its nine songs move from the clattering Get Innocuous! and the sarcastic North American Scum through All My Friends, seven and a half minutes of a single piano chord and a lyric about the friends you lose to getting older, to the closing New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down.

Reception

It topped the Pazz & Jop poll, was album of the year for The Guardian and Uncut, and earned a Grammy nomination. Pitchfork gave it 9.2 and called it a joy to listen to for every possible reason; The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey called it extraordinary dance-rock for grown-ups. The reputation has only grown: Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums in 2012, fifth in The Guardian's best albums of the century in 2019, and back at the top of the UK dance albums chart in 2024. Ryan Leas wrote the 33 1/3 book on it.