Review: LCD Soundsystem at Hellbender
What to make of LCD Soundsystem in 2026?
It’s been nine years since American Dream, the band’s last full length album. There’s been very little new LCD Soundsystem material since then, other than a few stray singles that didn’t make a lasting impact. Are they a legacy band now? One that’s content to not release any new albums and tour with only a pre-established repertoire? Choosing this path could result in a similar fate to the Pixies, who are routinely on the road and perform without much cultural relevancy.
If LCD Soundsystem is aware of these existential questions about its status, there wasn’t any angst or anxiety on display during the band’s performance at Hellbender on Sept. 17. LCD delivered a setlist drawn from across the band’s body of work with mastery and confidence. The performance also demonstrated that LCD wants to be a true working live band. Not content with templates established by studio recordings, the artists continue to refine song arrangements to provide a deeper and expansive composite sound, fully realized by the eight members of the touring version of the group.
LCD’s full band sound was on display during the night’s second selection, “Yr City's a Sucker.” In the studio, the track is minimal to the point of skeletal. The performance at Hellbender started out feeling like a soundtrack to a ’70s neo-noir movie but as the song progressed through its driving, one-chord romp, the sound seemed much girthier than on record.
The night also saw extended instrumental introductions to certain songs, providing another chance for the members to exhibit their collective musical prowess. For instance, one number started out with an obnoxious, repetitious keyboard that soon became less grating and more familiar as the central motif for the always welcome and insistent “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” emerged. “45:33” also had a long, proggy, Yes-like piano-led intro before the band shifted into disco dance party mode. And speaking of disco, LCD’s group sound was never too far away from Niles Rodgers and Chic, as exhibited by the chicken scratch guitar in “Time to Get Away” and the polyrhythmic funk of “On Repeat.”
Experimenting with how to present the band’s collection of songs didn’t stop at the music. The lighting was exquisite throughout the Hellbender set with a cascading flow between reds, blues, and yellows, perfectly matching the tone of each song. In some instances, individual drums would light up when hit, emphasizing key moments during “Dance Yrself Clean,” for example. Lighting LCD Soundsystem also includes the requisite giant disco ball hanging overhead, which was put to good use for the effervescent “Home,” when it felt as though the band and audience alike could float away at any second.
Photo by Sam Bennett
LCD’s self-assurance with the material was represented in the members’ stage manner, especially by frontman/songwriter/sound architect/mastermind/svengali James Murphy. At one point during “I Can Change,” Murphy and fellow founding member Nancy Whang waved together at the same time. Was this seemingly off-handed synchronicity something that they do together at that point of the song every night or just fun happenstance? At another time, Murphy positioned himself over an onstage fan so that it blew up the back of his T-shirt to achieve the puffy Michelin Man logo look. He even sang a quick snippet of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at the end of “Pow Pow.”
These moments brought into question whether Murphy was a little bored with the entire affair. Yet his seemingly nonchalant air didn’t affect his full body scream for “On Repeat,” which requires real commitment to vocal technique so as not to fully blow out one’s vocal cords. Furthermore, there was no trace of indifference during the full band explosion of “Dance Yrself Clean,” which made the owners of Hellbender glad they didn’t have a roof since it would have been blown off by the combined force of the band and audience.
The most playful sequence of the night was the beginning of “New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down,” in which Murphy riffed while singing the song’s melody and Whang gently played accompanying piano chords. The improvisation touched on many subjects, including the song “We’ve Got Tonight”; how the subtext of most songs are about a boy and a girl who can’t be kept apart by their parents; angry rock bands actually singing about being mad at their moms; and how angry dude stuff sucks, which was punctuated by the statement, “That's bad art.” As the crowd laughed along, Whang encouraged him to write a song on that topic.
Murphy continued to sing-riff by praising and trusting Whang on all things. He even brought up moms again and, realizing the full-circle nature of the improvisation, delightfully yelled, “Call back” before finally transitioning into the regular presentation of “New York, I Love You.” The fiery and cathartic nature of that selection perfectly set up “All My Friends,” the closing song of all closing songs, as the Hellbender crowd sang along, took phone videos, laughed, cried, and yelled their way to the end of the show.
Even though fans yearn for a new album, LCD Soundsystem’s show at Hellbender proved that they are still music adventurers, capable of playfulness and a little experimentation within the band’s overall commitment to presentation and professionalism. Still, Whang should keep bugging Murphy to write that song about moms and angry rock bands. It’d be a great way to kick off the band’s next show in Asheville.
(Photo by Tom Farr)
