LCD Soundsystem covered Bauhaus‘ 1982 track ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ on the first night of their LA residency. You can watch some fan-caught footage below.
The New York dance pioneers performed a gritty rendition of the spooky track at their show on Halloween (October 31). The gig marked the first night of their LA residency at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall.
The haunting track was perfect for Halloween as it was written about the actor known best for his role as Dracula in the 1931 film of the same name. Bela Lugosi then went on to star in other horror films such as Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Raven (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939).
James Murphy and co also debuted their brand new single ‘X-Ray Eyes’ during their set, with fans sharing footage of the moment on Reddit. The track was originally shared as a worldwide exclusive on NTS Radio on October 22, which was the only place to hear it ever since, but the band recently released it on all streaming platforms.
‘X-Ray Eyes’ marks the first new material from the group – aside from the standalone ‘New Body Rhumba’ from Noah Baumbach’s 2022 film White Noise – since their 2017 comeback album ‘American Dream’, which itself ended a seven-year break after 2010’s ‘This Is Happening’.
LCD Soundsystem has finished up their run of four shows at LA’s Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall and have a four-night run at the Hollywood Palladium commencing later this week. Visit here for any remaining tickets.
LCD Soundsystem’s 2024 Los Angeles residency dates are:
NOVEMBER
7 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
8 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
9 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
10 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
The ‘All My Friends’ hitmakers have also been announced as one of the acts for next year’s Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. This news was paired with the announcement of a new album from the band. A press release for Primavera Sound reads: “If this is a celebration, then let’s embrace LCD Soundsystem’s ‘All My Friends’ as the official anthem of Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.
“Almost twenty years after giving the world this dance-rock ode to friendship, the influential band led by James Murphy will come back to the festival (and with a new album!) to make it clear that, although they are an inherent part of our best memories, their time is always now.”
Last week James Murphy shared an update on “what’s shaping up to be a new LCD Soundsystem album”. “So there’s a new LCD song called ‘X-Ray Eyes’. It’s the first single of what’s shaping up to be a new LCD Soundsystem album. Don’t ask me when that is, because we are still working on it. But it feels very good to be putting out new music,” he wrote on the group’s official Instagram page.
Murphy continued: “We made a small run of silkscreened 12″s that we’ll sell at the upcoming LA and NYC shows and DFA will have a limited grip of them, but don’t freak out if you don’t get one because there will be more readily available commercial release of the same record when we can get it together. We just made a pile of white labels and are screening 100 at a time for each gig. It’s a short lead time thing and it’s fun.
“But, no, there is no finished LP yet. But when we are not playing shows, its getting closer and closer to completion. So that’s the news. Anthing else you hear is bullshit speculation. go vote. J”
This summer the band performed a sunset slot at Glastonbury Festival. A five-star NME review of the set said: “The packed-out Pyramid field hold each other tight and reach for the sky as LCD’s 10 song masterclass naturally ends with ‘All My Friends’. This song and this moment are the manifestation of Glastonbury at its best, the memories in the making and the good times and still to come: “And if the sun comes up and I still don’t wanna stagger home, then it’s the memory of our betters that are keeping us on our feet.” That’s how it starts.”