Prior to release, LCD Soundsystem performed at large music festivals as well as smaller shows to promote their reunion.

Due to the raising of ticket prices by scalpers, the band made plans to perform warm-up shows at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, New York.

[5] In October 2015, online publication Consequence of Sound reported that "multiple sources" could confirm that LCD Soundsystem would be reuniting in 2016 and that they would be headlining "high-profile music festivals in the US and UK."

[10] Consequence of Sound and Pitchfork both reported again, after the release of the Christmas single, that multiple sources could confirm a reunion in 2016.

He had invited past members Nancy Whang and Pat Mahoney to his apartment to talk about releasing new material, where they both agreed on making a new LCD Soundsystem record together.

[20] Like previous albums Sound of Silver[21] and This Is Happening,[22] one of the recording locations was DFA Studios in New York City.

The artwork, which has been labeled as "straightforward"[38][39] and having a "simple aesthetic",[40] is a painting titled UP done by Murphy's friend Robert Reynolds.

[39] People thought of the artwork as a possible homage to the front cover of the 1996 David Foster Wallace novel Infinite Jest,[42] a book with which James Murphy was known to have long been familiar.

[45] One user jokingly stated that they considered cancelling their vinyl pre-order of the album due to their dislike of the cover art.

Other users compared it, quality-wise, to a preset for a slide on Microsoft PowerPoint as well as the cover art for Kasabian's 2017 album For Crying Out Loud.

[46] Billboard's Tatiana Cirisano listed the album cover as one of the worst of 2017, stating that it "looks like it could have been concocted using a stock photo and some toying with Microsoft Word".

[53] On August 4, the band rolled out an ice cream truck outside of the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago promoting the album.

[57] A virtual reality experience made to accompany the song, titled "Dance Tonite", was released to the public on August 22, though first previewed privately in June.

[58][59] Available to use in a web browser, the experience allowed people with room scale virtual reality kits, such as the Oculus Rift, to dance along to the track.

The video depicts an elderly couple, portrayed by Sissy Spacek and David Strathairn, who build a teleporter in their garage.

[67] Along with the initial announcement of a new album, LCD Soundsystem indicated an expanded tour that went on throughout 2016, including both smaller shows and appearances at festivals that they headlined.

[74] The band was scheduled to perform at the III Points Festival during October in Miami, Florida, but were forced to cancel their set due to weather complications caused by Hurricane Matthew.

[75] The band's first live appearance of 2017 took place at the then-recently opened Brooklyn Steel venue in New York City.

[76] It was during their five-night residency at the venue where they performed album tracks "Tonite", "Call the Police", "American Dream", and "Emotional Haircut"[77] live for the first time.

[64] In early 2018, the band was set for a return to New Zealand and Australia only 7 months after a brief tour of the latter, but all shows were cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances".

[34] Jordan Bassett of NME wrote: "The band retains the uncanny power to encapsulate a place and time.

[86] Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian also gave it 5 out of 5 stars, saying: "Packed with aural allusions to Bowie and Brian Eno, LCD Soundsystem's comeback is a virtuosic tribute to their heroes – and themselves.

It's a beautifully produced, masterfully realized album, but it's also a bit of a downer and an unusually slow burn" and gave it an A−.

"[85] In a review for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield stated "James Murphy and his wrecking crew of New York punk-disco marauders don't waste a moment on the superb American Dream – it's a relentless, expansive, maddeningly funny set of songs asking how a lifetime of good intentions and hard work can blow up into such a mess.

"[33] However, Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that many tracks "suffer from a shortfall of melodic potency, and a lack of lateral development, especially in longer pieces", and that "often, the journey just isn't worth the destination".

[88] Joseph Stannard of The Wire was scathing about "the inexpressive lite-white stadium bluster of the tracks – frequently recalling U2 at their bloated worst [...] This record is no cause for celebration.