Last night, on Thursday, June 12, LCD Soundsystem kicked off the first night of their eight-show residency at London’s legendary Brixton Academy. The American electronic dance-punk band will take over the intimate South London venue through to Sunday, 22nd June.
The residency marks a return to familiar ground for the band, who played a sold-out six-night run at Brixton in 2022. This time around, all eight dates sold out swiftly, confirming the band’s enduring appeal.
Opening the show with ‘You Wanted A Hit’, frontman James Murphy addressed the crowd: “We played here a few years ago and we really liked it. Now we’re back, and we really appreciate that you came to see us. We don’t take it for granted.” Mid-set, Murphy explained the band’s choice to return to Brixton instead of opting for a larger venue: “We like to play in rooms that have some character and some love in them”.
The beloved dance-punk revival band were formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2002 by James Murphy and are signed to his own DFA Records label. Their sound fuses punk attitude with dance-floor rhythms, earning them critical acclaim and a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2018 for ‘tonite’. Their live performances are known for sonic complexity, with a line-up featuring guitars, bass, drums, synthesizers, pianos, and a variety of percussion instruments.
Backed by a nine-piece band, the 55-year-old Murphy led an electrifying two-hour set bursting with hits, including ‘I Can Change’, ‘All My Friends’, ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ and ‘Someone Great‘. More recent singles ‘new body rhumba’ (2022) and ‘x-ray eyes‘ (2024) also featured, as the packed venue sang along to every word.
Murphy was in typically playful form, shimmying across the stage in a neon green T-shirt, straddling monitors and delivering a tongue-in-cheek rendition of ‘New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down’, complete with faux-crooner vocal intonations and a dramatic tempo shift.
The band entered the stage to The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’, a touching tribute to the late Brian Wilson, whose passing was announced the previous day. During the intermission, they exited to Sly & The Family Stone’s ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime’, in homage to Sly Stone, who also recently passed away. Our recent coverage on the death of Brian Wilson can be read here.
LCD Soundsystem – Brixton Academy Setlist (2025)
- You Wanted A Hit
- Tribulations
- Movement
- Yr City’s a Sucker
- I Can Change
- Time to Get Away
- Other Voices
- Oh Baby
- Get Innocuous!
- new body rhumba
- Someone Great
- Home
Encore:
- North American Scum
- tonite
- x-ray eyes
- New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down
- All My Friends
Our coverage on the announcement of LCD Soundsystem’s 2025 residency can be read here.
