When you release a live album you risk being overlooked and outright ignored by the popular press. Live albums used to be a right of passage and some sort of marker that you have more to offer than what is produced behind the doors of the studio control room. LCD Soundsystem is a group who you might not know has a history of releasing live material. Some recorded at their shows, but mainly material from the studio that is unvarnished and gives you insight into the band's unmatched dynamic experienced at their shows.

For their third live album, Electric Lady Sessions LCD Soundsystem send the reminder that at their core they are a band from New York City, recording sessions at the iconic Greenwich Village studio where Hendrix, Joplin, and countless other legends left their mark. Their first live album since they released their hyped up farewell from Madison Square Garden just five years earlier, James Murphy, Nancy Whang and the band deliver a live album worthy of being considered a proper studio release.

In addition to new renditions of songs like "Tonite" and "Call The Police," what distinguishes Electric Lady Sessions from your typical LCD live release is that they put their influences on the record. From a Heaven 17 cut to the Human League and a nod to Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards via the Chic classic, "I Want Your Love." LCD Soundsystem treat their live album like a DJ set mixing their favorite songs along with their best covers.

Electric Lady Sessions will probably be overlooked by the time we make it to the end of 2019, but it's one of the best releases of the year so far.

Resources

LCD Soundsystem - Official Site