Adopting an “if it ain’t broke” approach to touring, LCD Soundsystem landed back in South London last night to kick off their second Brixton Academy residency in three years.
This time round the Brooklyn dance-punks have expanded their run, promising eight sell-out shows over the space of a fortnight, playing to a combined audience twice the size of The O2 arena. “We like to play in rooms that have some character,” singer James Murphy had shrugged mid-set, justifying what many might deem as a massive undersell.
The truth is, a little intimacy suits LCD Soundsystem. Blame it on his background in hardcore punk, or the road to Damascus-style conversion to techno he enjoyed in his late 20s, but the 55-year-old frontman’s most frenetic, sweat-soaked songwriting really thrives in conditions like these. The fevered electro-punk of early single Movement was a case in point, with last night’s rabid rendition provoking a circle pit. Similarly, it was a thrill to finally witness the scuzzy strut of 2024-track X-Ray Eyes in all its whites-of-their-eyes fervour, while the colossal drop in Dance Yrself Clean felt even more impactful unleashed in a smaller space.
Leading nine musicians, and backed by a mountain of gear, Murphy proved in a playful mood, prowling the stage in a neon green tee, shimmying on the spot and pausing to straddle the monitors. At the climax of Get Innocuous he could be found pounding the floor toms, supplementing what was already a powerhouse performance from drummer Pat Mahoney. For ‘New York, I Love You’ he flirted with faux-crooner inflections – much to the audience’s amusement – accompanied by a fluid performance from keyboardist Nancy Whang.
As ever, it was the band’s more anthemic moments that delivered the biggest emotional sucker punches. Taken from 2017-album American Dream, a glitterball-powered rendition of Oh Baby combined slow-burning synths with portentous bass to devastating effect. Someone Great saw multi-instrumentalist Al Doyle mirroring Murphy’s vocal melody on glockenspiel, over layers of throbbing synths, while a rapturously-received outing of All My Friends warranted comparison to New Order at the peak of their powers.
Three years on from the original residency, their live appeal remains undimmed, while conditions for an LCD love-in feel more favourable than ever, thanks to the subsequent rise of indie sleaze revivalists like Fcukers and Charli XCX-producer The Dare. If you’re smart, you’ll beg, borrow or steal a ticket to one of the other seven shows.
