Which came first: The partnership or the acronym? It’s a fair question when you’re talking about pop supergroup LSD. The musical union of British multi-hyphenate Labrinth, Australian superstar singer-songwriter Sia and dance-music DJ/producer Diplo is an unlikely teaming, to say the least. And despite their lysergic handle, the repetitively titled half-hour offering Labrinth, Sia & Diplo Present … LSD is nowhere near as trippy as you might think. Though it is every bit as colourful and animated as its cover art. For the most part, these 10 tracks feel less like songs written by humans and more like some new dance-music hybrid assembled by computer algorithm. Vocals are childishly simple and repetitive. Melodies are simpler and far more fleeting. Arrangements and production are taken to insane extremes — virtually every second of the set is cram-jammed with beats and vocals and samples and sound effects and interjections and noises and gags and asides, as if the whole affair were some sort of morning-zoo talk show staged in a disco. Sometimes it’s playfully enjoyable. Other times it’s just over the top. After a while, it quickly amounts to sensory overload that tires you out — and makes you appreciate the few tracks where the vocalists actually get to sing or harmonize unimpeded for more than 10 seconds. Granted, this whole approach might work in a sweaty nightclub or the dance tent at a festival. But as music to sit and listen to, it’s often a total buzz-kill.
