A cursory listen to LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut would lead one to believe that James Murphy, the singular force behind the project, is cool incarnate. While electro-grooves beep and tick behind him, Murphy talk-sings in a monotone that suggests a life too fabulous to be shared with us mere mortals.

He certainly has a right to brag. As half of the production team the DFA, he has spearheaded the dance-punk revival that has swept the underground rock community in recent years, and even touched the mainstream. (Including a song with Britney Spears that so far hasn’t seen the light of day.) LCD Soundsystem’s previously released vinyl-only singles, collected here on a second CD, have become avant-garde dance floor anthems, particularly the name-dropping complaint-fest “Losing My Edge.”

But Murphy is too smart to play the game the way it’s expected of him. Underneath his jaded exterior hides a big old softie, hungry for love and in search of genuine fun. LCD Soundsystem brings that out. On songs like the goofy opener “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House,” and the fuzz-punk rave-up “Movement,” Murphy laughs at the scenesters even as he acts like one of them. “It’s like a discipline without the discipline of all the disciplines / It’s like a fat guy in a T-shirt doing all the singing,” he shouts on “Movement.” “Here comes the new stylish creep,” he sneers on the jittery “On Repeat,” knowing that he’s only mocking himself.

Two tracks – the psychedelic “Never as Tired as When I’m Waking Up” and the majestic, Brian Eno-influenced closer “Great Release” – explicitly reveal Murphy’s romantic side. “It feels like I’m coming home,” goes the latter, as Murphy opens up his voice into a full-throated croon. Even the hippest kid knows that being human is more important than being cool.

***

Every once in a while, a song comes along that so perfectly captures the essence of rock and roll abandon, you have to wonder if it was created by scientists. Kaiser Chiefs’ “I Predict a Riot” is one of those songs. A four-minute thrill ride of buzzsaw guitars and stomping rhythms, the track describes a wild night out in the Chiefs’ home city of Leeds, England. “I Predict a Riot” is Kaiser Chiefs’ first single. Already a hit in Britain, it’s currently making inroads on American modern rock radio. “Employment,” (DFA/Capitol) their debut album, entered the UK charts at no. 3, and the band is enjoying near-universal press acclaim. But starting a career with such a bang is almost always a curse. How could a group possibly live up to the promise of that first burst of stardom?

LCD Soundsystem will be performing at the Bowery Ballroom April 2 (6 Delancey at Bowery, 212-533-2111), Kaiser Chiefs at Maxwell’s tonight (1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, 201-653-1703).