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Category: The Playlist

  • Confidence Man and Jade “Gossip” + Everything Else You Heard at Club Underground on Friday, August 29

    Cover of "Gossip," single by Confidence Man with Jade

    IDK how much I should explain here, but I’m just going to assume that we don’t have the same timeline and don’t hear all the same music in our scrolls. Confidence Man is an Australian dance-pop group with a weirdo KLF sensibility. If you go to my DJ gigs, you’ve probably heard “Angry Girl” many, many times, often with The Rapture “House of Jealous Lovers.” Jade Thirlwall is a British singer who I don’t really know much about outside of the Wikipedia entry I read. Last month, they released a song called “Gossip” that’s fire. It’s very Basement Jaxx-meets-Princess Superstar. I finally got around to playing it last week at Underground and it did pretty well. This week, it did even better.

    Most of the new tunes turned up early in the set: Alison Goldfrapp “Find Xanadu,” Pulp “Got to Have Love,” Ora the Molecule “Nobody Cares,” etc. I don’t even know what really constitutes “new” anymore, but we’ll save that rant for another day. Thanks to Larry G. for having me play Underground last night and thanks to everyone who hit the dance floor, especially those of you who stuck it out until the end of “My Girls.” Set list is below.

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  • Hunx & His Punx Bring a Vintage Rock ‘n’ Roll Party on Walk Out on This World

    Hunx and His Punx Walk out on this world album cover Get Better Records

    Last week, Hunx and His Punx released their first new album in over a decade. Walk Out on This World is an album several years in the making and the backstory is marked by tragedy, including the death of bassist Shannon Shaw’s fiancé in 2022 and, more recently, the Eaton Fire, which devastated Seth Bogart’s neighborhood. You might think that would make for a somber album, but Hunx and His Punx don’t play like that. Walk Out on This World is real, an album that acknowledges that life is rough without dropping the beat.

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  • The New Eves, Confidence Man and More of What You Heard at Underground on 8/22/25

    The New Eves album cover The New Eve Is Rising
    Album cover of The New Eve Is Rising by The New Eves

    Earlier this month, I read a review of The New Eves album The New Eve Is Rising, which referenced The Slits and The Wicker Man, on Bandcamp and promptly bought the album based on my love of post-punk and the original 1973 The Wicker Man, which is the only version of the film that matters and, yes, I’m including that overhyped waste-of-time Midsommer when I say that. But, back to The New Eves. The album is killer and I’ve been wanting to play “Highway Man,” but haven’t because it seemed like the first play should be for a very specific crowd. That brings us to Underground on Friday night. I was playing upstairs. It wasn’t packed or anything, but there were a handful of goths in flowing skirts dancing to “Christine,” the Siouxsie and the Banshees song, and, I thought, if anybody is going to get The New Eves, it’s them. So, I played the song and every single one of them stayed on the dance floor for the whole three minutes and 43 seconds. 

    I finally got around to playing Confidence Man’s new track, “Gossip,” as well. It did pretty well and someone came up to the booth and asked about it, which is a good sign. The same person then mentioned a mashup that I played way back in the day that was Ladytron and Kylie Minogue. I love that one, but, I said, I literally only have it on vinyl. There’s a story behind that record too that I’ve been meaning to post, but you’ll have to wait for it. 

    Anyhow, the set list is below.  New/ish tunes are in bold.

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  • New Alison Goldfrapp, Tyler the Creator and Everything Else You Heard at The Mermaid on 8/17/25

    The Mermaid Little Tokyo Los Angeles August 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Inside the Mermaid 8/17/25 (Pic: Liz O.)

    It’s been a minute since I’ve DJed at The Mermaid, long enough where I hadn’t seen how the corner near the DJ booth now looks like an underwater cave (see pic above). It’s super cute. Anyhow, last night was an open format set, so you heard everything from new Alison Goldfrapp and Tyler the Creator to oldies from Brenton Wood and Creedence Clearwater Revival to everything in between. Set list is below. 

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  • Alison Goldfrapp Brings Dance Floor Heat on Flux

    Alison Goldfrapp Flux album cover

    If you’ve been paying attention to the singles that Alison Goldfrapp has dropped this year, then you have an idea of what to expect from the singer’s new album, Flux. It’s a pop-minded album that does, at least at times, recall her work with Goldfrapp, the duo that bears her name. Still, “Reverberotic” and “Find Xanadu” aren’t the only jams on this album and, if you’re a fan of those two songs in particular, definitely get Flux in your queue asap. 

    Flux is Goldfrapp’s second solo album. Two years ago, she released The Love Invention, a dreamy disco collection that was one of my favorite albums of 2023. With Flux, the sound is a little more rooted in the singer’s legacy while maintaining a contemporary sound. 

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  • Jeffrey Runnings’ Piqued Is A Beautiful Final Solo Album From the Late For Against Bassist and Vocalist

    Piqued by Jeffrey Runnings on vinyl out now on Independent Project Records
    Jeffrey Runnings’ final solo album is out now on Independent Project Records (Pic: Liz O.)

    In the extensive liner notes by Camilla Aisa, Jeffrey Runnings says that it wasn’t his intention to release the music that he was recording on a thrifted 8-track machine. But, in a tragic turn of events, Piqued  would be Runnings final solo album. Last fall, the musician, known for his work as bassist and singer of For Against, learned that he had advanced stage cancer. Over the course of the next few months, he was able to finish up the collection of songs and work with Independent Project Records, who had previously released For Against albums, to begin approving the artwork. Runnings died on March 3, 2025 at the age of 61. Piqued was released posthumously in July. It is both a testament to Runnings’ creativity and a loving tribute to the musician. 

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  • New Alice Glass and Lebanon Hanover + More of What You Heard at Nocturno (Darkwave/Indie/New Wave Room) on August 8, 2025

    Vilevo live at Nocturno in Los Angeles on August 8, 2025 (photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    View from the DJ booth: Vilevo live at Nocturno (Pic: Liz O.)

    Vilevo played live last night at Nocturno and their set was fire. I watched from the DJ booth, both above and behind the stage, so I really could only see the backs of the musicians, but I saw the way the crowd lit up when they played and that was really cool. Anyhow, I bought their album, Recopilación, this morning and am listening to it right now. Give it a listen when you have a chance. 

    Alice Glass dropped a new single a couple weeks ago, “Catch and Release,” and it slayed last night. Instant banger. You’ll definitely be hearing this more in the coming weeks/months. Other new tunes in the set include “My Love” from Lebanon Hanover, which turned up pretty early in the set, plus “Everything We Thought We Knew” from N8NOFACE and “Rearrange” by Sextile, both of which I started playing at Underground in the past few weeks. Then there are the new-ish songs that I’ve played at Nocturno previously this summer, but are definitely getting more people out on the dance floor now: French Police “Sugar Killer,” Mareux “Nonstop Romance” and Ultra Sunn “Wrong Floor.” Set list is below. 

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  • New N8NOFACE, Ora the Molecule and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 8/01/25

    Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club August 1, 2025
    View from the DJ Booth (pic: Liz O.)

    It was hard to decide which new N8NOFACE song should get played first in my sets. Then, while playing at Underground last night, it hit me that “Everything We Thought We Knew” would work well with the one Molchat Doma song that everyone knows. I think it’s a keeper. Finally got around to playing “Nobody Cares” by Ora the Molecule last night too and that also did well. 

    There’s one new song that I really wanted to play last night, but couldn’t fit it into the set, so you’ll have to wait a few weeks until I’m back at Underground. Other than that, thanks for dancing and here’s the set list. Anything new-ish is linked to a related post or, if there is no related post, a YouTube clip.  

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  • Nuovo Testamento, Mark Stewart and More New Music for July, 2025

    Press photo of Mark Stewart by Chiara Meatelli and Dominic Lee
    Mark Stewart, founder of the Pop Group, finished work on The Fateful Symmetry before his death in 2023. The album was released earlier this month. (Photo: Chiara Meatelli and Dominic Lee)

    Sometimes, it feels like there’s just too much awful news in the world to pay attention to new music. This is one of those times. But, if I’ve learned anything after IDK how many years of music obsession, it’s that turning up the stereo/laptop/earbuds/whatever and tuning into something different can help. Sometimes the songs make you dance, sometimes they make you chuckle, sometimes they even give you some new insight into the news on our screens. 

    Here’s a small sample of what I’ve been listening to in July of 2025. At the end of the post, you’ll find links to a few other recent releases that I’ve already reviewed. 

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  • Fever Ray Refreshes Classics and More on The Year of the Radical Romantics

    Fever Ray The Year of the Radical Romantics

    The only time I’ve seen Fever Ray live was at Coachella in 2010 and, even then, I only caught part of their set sometime on the first night of the festival after I had already decided that I was over Coachella and the only thing that might ever get me back is The Smiths reunion that I estimated would be announced the day after hell freezes over. All that said, I don’t really have a true concert experience to compare to The Year of the Radical Romantics, the new, live-ish album from Fever Ray, but that’s probably for the best. 

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