The album is dedicated to Jerry Fuchs (1974–2009), who performed drums live with the band on occasion, as well as having a big part in associated DFA acts.

[8] Guardian reviewer Alexis Petridis observed that the album did not contain Sound of Silver's "startling sense of mapping out new territories", instead sticking to a template that worked "incredibly well.

"[13] In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra had a similar opinion, stating that while This Is Happening "doesn't quite reach the monumental heights" of the band's previous album, it still provided proof that LCD Soundsystem was "one of the most exciting and interesting bands around in the 2000s."

"[18] Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal awarded the album a Best New Music accolade, describing it as "pretty perfect".

The album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 in its first week on sale, selling approximately 31,000 copies.