Electronic music is often dismissed as cold and emotionless—a monotonous musical form that is too sleek to let any real humanity in. And it’s not like it requires any real skill to perform.

Those criticisms are rarely levied against LCD Soundsystem though.

And with good reason, because through the intricate construction of synths and firestorm of James Murphy’s vocals, This Is Happening is an entirely human record.

While this is undeniably a dance record, it’s subverted by a punk energy that sometimes turns the dancefloor into a mosh pit. You might say, “dance punk, duh,” and dismiss it as a convention of the genre. But Murphy & Co. are giants among their peers, and this album is a pinnacle of the genre.

Often, dance punk is hurried by a lyric-spitting snarl, quick drum loops, and short run times. Not so here. Of the nine songs, only two are shorter than six minutes. And through each, Murphy’s deliver shifts from deadpan to frantic, always maintaining a wry irony.

Musically, it’s a masterwork of maximalist composition. It drops queues to Velvet Underground (“Drunk Girls,” which borrows its structure from “White Light/White Heat”), David Bowie’s Berlin period (“All I Want”), and Kraftwerk (the robotik “One Touch”).

But perhaps the most effective testament to its power is the fact that three of the most exciting songs (“Dance Yrself Clean,” “You Wanted a Hit,” “Pow Pow”) manage to stay fresh and engaging despite run times that blow right past eight minutes.

At the time of release, James Murphy said that This Is Happening would be the group’s final record. This record was the exclamation point on an already incredible career. And while the group’s reunion would undermine that punctuation, it remains a Capital-G Great Record that doesn’t need to be heard in the context of their discography to be enjoyed.