Didn’t take pics last night at Club Underground’s Halloween party, but there were some killer costumes. (My favorite was the Black Knight, with a flesh wound, from The Holy Grail.) But, I did manage to keep track of my sets. First one was opening upstairs. Second was downstairs from midnight to close. Tunes are listed below. New-ish stuff (past two years) links back to other mentions here. That’s it for now. Happy Halloween!
Oh, and if you want actual spooky tunes today, check out this year’s Halloween edition of DJ Hoseh’s Dublab show, Version Sounds, with guest DJ sets from yours truly.
I’ve been trying to write about No Bad Memories, the new album from The Avalanches, for days now, but haven’t had a chance to finish that. In the meantime, you should know that it’s 100% one of those albums that you need to listen to from start to finish in one session, like Since I Left You. However, I did pull one song to fit into last night’s set at Club Underground. It is now Saturday morning and I still have that song stuck in my head. It haunted my dreams last night. Does that count as a recommendation?
Anyhow, the set list is below. Songs from the past year or two are in bold and link back to other mentions on this blog.
And don’t snooze on getting your tickets for Underground’s Halloween Party. It’s next Friday, October 30, at the Grand Star in Chinatown. Both floors of the club will be open. Tickets are on sale now.
The latest edition of Beatique is online now and features new music from Soft Cell, Hercules and Love Affair, Boy Harsher, ADULT. and more, plus a few old favorites, including a New Order song that is neither “Blue Monday” nor “Bizarre Love Triangle,” a Bauhaus song that isn’t “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and one of my all-time favorite club bangers. Listen here or on Mixcloud. Set list is below.
I love Slayyyter’s remix/cover of Turnstile’s song “Birds,” which is on Never Enough: Versions. It’s such a unexpected take on the song, clubby and with a dubstep twist. Plus, Slayyyter is really good with aggressive vocals. I included “Birds” on my September mix, but didn’t get the chance to try it out in a club until last night. Set list is below.
There’s a new Hercules and Love Affair album out now. It’s called Danseur and it’s fantastic. If you were upstairs at Underground last night, you might have heard “Heaven,” which features Faris Badwan of The Horrors on vocals and is my favorite song on the album. (Read the review here) Other new releases in the set include the title track from Soft Cell’s final album, Danceteria (review) and “Exploded View” from Actors latest, Our Love Will Live Forever (review).
It was The Cure Nite, but, I was playing in the not-The Cure room upstairs. Got a few Fontaines D.C. songs in for those of you who came to the club after the show, and those of us who didn’t get tickets. As usual, releases from the past two years are highlighted and link back to other mentions on the blog. Thanks for dancing.
Let’s start this review with a confession. I like Boy Harsher, but I’m not the mega-fan that so many people I know are. Too many of their songs sound the same to me, to the extent that I frequently have to double-check what I’ve played when I’m DJing, lest I confuse “Country Girl,” “Give Me a Reason” and “Come Closer.” That said, I was very excited to hear “Jeans” when it was released as a single a few months back because it doesn’t sound at all like a Boy Harsher banger. At first it sounded very New Order to me. Now, it reminds me of “I Go Crazy,” the Flesh For Lulu song that’s in Some Kind of Wonderful. I love “Jeans,” but wasn’t quite sure that the club crowds would. In fact, it’s been one of the big hits on the dance floor this summer. Thanks to “Jeans,” there were a few nights where I didn’t have to play “Pain.” That’s a relief.
There’s this cover of The Waterboys’ song “The Whole of the Moon” that I’ve been playing throughout the summer (if you see a “secret track IYIYK” on some set lists, that’s what it is) and a bunch of you have asked about it, so here are the details. (You can also hear the song on this month’s Beatique mix.) It’s a one-off project called The Watergirls featuring a bunch of different artists who came together to pay tribute to Keith McIvor, aka JD Twitch of Optimo, who died last year. The Watergirls was spearheaded by DJ/producer Teamy. Lead vocals are from Mhairi McClymont. James Murphy sings in his David Bowie voice on the bridge. DFA is releasing the single, the digital version of which is available now. You can pre-order the vinyl, like I did, which is out in October. All the links are here. Proceeds benefit Beatson Cancer Charity and Scottish Brain Tumor Research Centre of Excellence.
Set list from last night at Club Underground is below. New-ish stuff (released in the past two years) links back to previous mentions here. That’s all. See you back at Underground soon.
Last week, Fcukers released an EP called nuyork, which features three remixes of songs from Ö by esteemed New York DJs Eli Escobar, Justin Strauss and Junior Sanchez. All three of the remixes are top tier, but the one I played last night at Underground, “Beatback (Justin Strauss en la Piscina Remix),” is my favorite. I initially gravitated to it because Strauss, a lowkey icon of New York’s club scene, did my favorite remix of Marc Almond’s song “Tears Run Rings,” which I only play in all-vinyl sets. His take on “Beatback” has a similar darkness to it, albeit with a slower, house-leaning tempo than the very hiNRG “Tears Run Rings.” Looked like those of you on the dance floor were into it as well. Do yourself a favor and get that EP in your collection.
Two other new releases from last night’s set are the Nick Zinner remix of Automatic’s song “Black Box,” which was played early, and Madonna and Kylie Minogue’s collab “Love Sensation (Afterhours Mix).” As usual, the set list is below, songs from the past year or so link back to other mentions on this blog. A couple song you heard last night, like Arctic Monkeys “Opening Night” and Boy Harsher “Blue Jeans,” are on this month’s mix, so maybe give that a listen. Thanks for dancing!
The August installment of Beatique is now live on Mixcloud. You can also listen to it via the embed below. With the sad news last week that both Glen Hansard and Kavinsky died, this month’s set begins with The Swell Season and ends with Kavinsky. In between is some rock, some rave, and lots in between. Some of the artists included in this months mix are Arctic Monkeys, The Divine Comedy, Boys Noize, I-F, horsegiirL, The Strokes, Caifanes and Turnstile. Full tracklist with notes and links is below. Thanks for listening!
Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Silver Lake on May 15, 2025 was an inspiration for the first half of this set. (Pic: Liz O.)
Earlier this month, I caught Ora the Molecule play at El Cid in Silver Lake. It was such a fun show. The crowd grooved throughout the duration of her set and, by the end, had formed a conga line that snaked around the small dance floor. Ora the Molecule is Norwegian DJ Nora Schielderup’s Italo disco alter, a theremin-playing intergalactic Raffaella Carrà whose songs are simultaneously cheeky and sincere. My favorite off her latest album, Dance Therapy, is “Nobody Cares,” a sentiment I find more liberating than depressing.
