For those of you who still think we're from England: we're not. No.

In one of the seedier corners of the Internet, there's an alley. There's lots of them on the internet, so this one goes unnoticed. Way back in the darkness, there's a door, unmarked of course. You can knock on this door all you want, but unless you've been invited, unless you know someone even shadier than you, you can't get in. They won't even answer. But when you get in...your visits may bring self-loathing, you may think harshly of the people doing exactly the same as you, but you can't help yourself. Because in that room, you're neck deep in all the free, high-quality music you could want.

I was in this corner last night when I saw a sight I wish I hadn't seen: just sitting there were two of my most anticipated releases of 2007. I paused to think about whether I wanted them now or if I wanted to wait. I thought about those great days of the past decade when excitement had to be tempered with patience for an actual release day. I remembered the thrill of going into a record store on a Tuesday I'd been waiting for for months, picking up the physical album and going home to listen to it right away. And for a second—really, I did think about it—I thought that maybe I would allow myself that feeling again.

And then I downloaded them anyway.

LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (listen to "All My Friends")
Ever since I read about this album's completion, I thought there was almost no way I couldn't be disappointed. Not only was LCD Soundsystem's first album my clear favorite of 2005, but the song "Yeah (Crass Version)" has since become one of my favorite songs of all time, a song that single-handedly justifies music idolatry, a song whose movement and emotion I one day want to dissect in an essay. The bar was set high.

So it wasn't a surprise that my first impression was that it was okay. The beats are little more processed when I wanted more raw. The insane climaxes are apparently being saved for the live show. James Murphy seems to be listening to as much of the Fall, a little more of the Talking Heads, and...okay, I don't mean this the way it sounds. I mean, I like this band, quite a lot. It's just that it seems kind of like...that...oh, how to put this. It sounds like he really loved the Postal Service album. There. I said it.

But the repeated listens are starting to bring out the shine of Silver. I find myself wanting to hear it again, and I can't really put my finger on why, exactly, but I'll figure it out.

And James Murphy may be taking over for Jarvis Cocker on the throne of Speaker of Life Truths.

Sound of silver talk to me
Makes you want to feel like a teenager
Until you remember the feelings of
A real-live, emotional teenager
Then you think again

The Shins, Wincing The Night Away (listen to "Australia")
Wow. I mean...wow. This album is absolutely lovely. It's not just nothing of a departure from their first two records, but it's still in the same station, where James Mercer still sounds like he smokes a whole lot of pot, bless 'im. But oh, what they've done to decorate the place. Every song starts with the same Shins sound of "what a nice song", but the difference is that every song then goes well above what you'd expect. The melodies swoop more and more satisfyingly. The song's peaks rise ten times higher. Fantastic.

But I still envy your anticipation.