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Aug 21, 2017 By Christopher Roberts LCD Soundsystem

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LCD Soundsystem broke up in 2011, only to reform in 2015 and they are releasing their long-awaited new album, American Dream, on September 1 via Columbia/DFA. Prior to their breakup they performed one final show in April that year at Madison Square Garden. Now in new interviews with The New York Times and Vulture, frontman James Murphy has suggested that the band broke up in part to sell more tickets for that final show. The band’s Al Doyle has since questioned this interpretation of Murphy’s comments.

Murphy said to Vulture: “We had booked this Madison Square Garden show and then realized the show’s promoters had no faith in us. They were trying to come up with big-name openers for us because they didn’t think we could sell out the place by ourselves. One of the openers they suggested was Big Boi from OutKast. Why on earth would Big Boi open for us? Big Boi was in one of the biggest, most important hip-hop - no, one of the biggest and most important acts of all time. It didn’t make any sense. But behind that idea was the promoters’ belief that we just weren’t going to sell any tickets unless there [was] some extra element. So I got mad on the phone with them about it. I was like, ‘Well, how about it’s our last fucking show?’ And I hung up the phone. Then I was like, I guess that’ll be our last show then.”

Murphy said to The New York Times: “My theory was, if I make it our last show, we’ll sell it out in two weeks…. It wasn’t a total lark, but it was a bit larky…. But I like making decisions. I find it easy.” (The show sold out in minutes.)

“No; the motivation was to make the show something incredible, something singular, strange and unrepeatable,” the band’s Al Doyle tweeted in response. “Plus, we’re talking about people’s professional livelihoods. That was my job, and it ended. I didn’t think I was getting it back.” (Read all his tweets below.)

American Dream comes seven years after their last album, 2010’s This Is Happening. That’s a decent stretch of time, but long gone are the 1960s and 1970s when iconic artists would release classic albums in quick succession (sometimes in the same year). Fleet Foxes recently took six years between albums, Grizzly Bear five years. Neither band broke up in the interim. Regardless of Murphy’s motivation for breaking up LCD Soundsystem, they are back now and that’s something for fans to celebrate.

American Dream includes two songs the band released in May, “Call the Police” and title track “American Dream.” They also performed them both on Saturday Night Live in May. Last week the band have finally shared another song from the album, “tonite,” via a retro 1980s looking video of the band performing the song on a revolving stage. Watch it below again, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899761850253967360

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899762332166959104

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899762538568601600

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899762727660306432

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899763116334034944

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899763333406101505

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899763910311636993

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899764337052614659

https://twitter.com/aldoyletweets/status/899764495362347016

LCD Soundsystem Tour Dates:

Aug-26-17 Monterrey, MX Hellow Festival
Sep-07-17 Copenhagen, DK Vega
Sep-08-17 Copenhagen, DK Vega - SOLD OUT
Sep-09-17 Copenhagen, DK Vega - SOLD OUT
Sep-11-17 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso - SOLD OUT
Sep-12-17 Amsterdam, NL Paradiso - SOLD OUT
Sep-13-17 Paris, FR L’Olympia - SOLD OUT
Sep-14-17 Paris, FR L’Olympia - SOLD OUT
Sep-16-17 Manchester, UK The Warehouse Project - SOLD OUT
Sep-17-17 Manchester, UK The Warehouse Project - SOLD OUT
Sep-19-17 Glasgow, UK The Barrowland Ballroom - SOLD OUT
Sep-20-17 Glasgow, UK The Barrowland Ballroom - SOLD OUT
Sep-22-17 London, UK Alexandra Palace - SOLD OUT
Sep-23-17 London, UK Alexandra Palace
Oct-17-17 Washington DC The Anthem - SOLD OUT
Oct-18-17 Washington DC The Anthem
Oct-20-17 Nashville, TN The Municipal Auditorium
Oct-21-17 Atlanta, GA Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre - SOLD OUT
Oct-22-17 Atlanta, GA Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
Oct-25-17 Miami, FL James L. Knight Center Theater
Oct-27-17 New Orleans, LA Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
Oct-30-17 Dallas, TX The Bomb Factory - SOLD OUT
Oct-31-17 Austin, TX Austin360 Amphitheater
Nov-03-17 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre
Nov-04-17 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre
Nov-06-17 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Nov-07-17 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Nov-08-17 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Nov-09-17 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Nov-11-17 Broomfield, CO 1st Bank Center
Nov-14-17 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium - SOLD OUT
Nov-15-17 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Nov-17-17 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium - SOLD OUT
Nov-18-17 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium - SOLD OUT
Nov-19-17 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium - SOLD OUT
Nov-20-17 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium - SOLD OUT
Nov-21-17 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium - SOLD OUT
Dec-02-17 Montreal, QC Place Bell Arena
Dec-03-17 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Dec-05-17 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore - SOLD OUT
Dec-06-17 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore - SOLD OUT
Dec-07-17 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore - SOLD OUT
Dec-08-17 Boston, MA Agganis Arena - SOLD OUT
Dec-11-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-12-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-14-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-15-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-17-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-18-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-19-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-21-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-22-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Dec-23-17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT

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