Beatique

Gorillaz x Daft Punk Night at Club Underground + More Happening in L.A.

It’s time for another theme night at Club Underground and, on Friday, February 6, we’ll be bringing back one of my personal favorites— Gorillaz x Daft Punk Night! Both floors of the Grand Star Jazz Club will be open with DJ Larry G. and me, Liz O., playing all night. On the first floor, you’ll hear songs from Gorillaz and Daft Punk, plus indie, Britpop, post-punk, synth and electro dance. Second floor is Gorillaz, Daft Punk, post-punk, electro, new wave, darkwave, goth, synthpop and dance. You know this is going to be a good one too, since Gorillaz has a new album, The Mountain, coming out later this month, five songs from which are already out now. (You may have already heard “The Happy Dictator” at Underground.) Tickets are available now on Eventbrite and Dice, so get yours now.
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February 4, 2026
February 2026 Beatique Mix: New Tunes from ADULT. and Kneecap + More

It’s time for the February edition of Beatique, which is now up on Mixcloud and embedded here. Again, I’m not posting the full set list because some things should be a surprise, but it does include a couple new songs that I want to mention. Last week, ADULT. released “No One Is Coming,” the lead single from their forthcoming album, Kissing Luck Goodbye. There is so much tension packed into this song that it feels like being trapped inside a nightmare, which is probably also a good description America right now too. I have a feeling that’s the point. Also last week, Kneecap dropped “Liars Tale,” the first song from their next album, Fenian. It’s dark and it’s brutal and I love it. Between ADULT. and Kneecap, I think my rage soundtrack will be covered this spring.
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February 3, 2026
New Music from Sébastien Tellier, Kula Shaker and Sam Quealy

Technically, this is last week’s batch of album reviews, but I put the list on hold until today. Sébastien Tellier, Kula Shaker and Sam Quealy all released new full-length albums on January 30. Musically, they are all very different, but, each one is quite worthy of your attention. Check out the reviews and then follow the links to find where you can stream or purchase them.
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February 2, 2026
A Gorillaz Earworm + More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 1/30/26

“The Happy Dictator” is the first single from The Mountain, by Gorillaz, out on February 27, 2026

“The Happy Dictator” is an earworm. On the few occasions that I’ve been able to play the Gorillaz song at a club, I’ve woken up the following day with it stuck in my head. This morning is no different. I played it early at Underground last night and now it’s lodged in my brain, with Damon Albarn and Russell Mael trading off vocals on a loop.

I don’t plan sets at all. I just drop 24+ hours of music on my laptop, sort it by BPM and then figure it all out as the night goes on. So, it’s only in hindsight that I can say that last night’s set at Underground was probably influenced by being at the anti-ICE protest/march in downtown Los Angeles earlier in the day. “The Happy Dictator,” “Police on My Back,” (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” “Shout to the Top,” “Tubthumping,” blah blah blah. Whatever is stuck in my head makes it into the set and then the set gets stuck in my head. That’s a DJ brain for you.

Anyhow, thanks to those of you who made it out to Underground last night. It was a blast as always. See you next Friday for Gorillaz x Daft Punk night! Set list is below. New-ish songs link back to previous mentions here.
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January 31, 2026
My News Reading List (Pt. 1?)

Newspaper reading room, 1938 (photo John Vachon via Library of Congress)

“Where do you get your news?” is a subject that comes a lot in IRL conversations with friends and I think it’s a very important, continuing chat we should all be having. For a lot of reasons that basically boil down to media monopolies, billionaires and private equity, we can’t simply rely on our local papers, TV channels and radio stations. While it seems like social media is the most convenient way to stay in the loop, we can’t trust the algorithm to send us the relevant, and truthful, news that we need.

So, I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of the news outlets I regularly read and watch. It’s broken down into categories. If you find this at all useful, please let me know and definitely feel free to share this with your pals.
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January 26, 2026
Sextile, Pixel Grip + More of What You Heard at Synthwaves 1/23/26

View from the DJ booth at Synthwaves, 1/23/26

Last night was Club Underground x Synthwaves at the Grand Star. I played the second half of the night in the Synthwaves room, upstairs. Crowd was great, as always. I was happy to get to work in some Italo disco at the end of the night and to close with “Cherry” by Chromatics, which I don’t play out all that often. For those of you who were there, thanks for dancing! Set list is below. New-ish stuff, basically 2025 releases, link back to other mentions here on Beatique.
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January 24, 2026
Robbie Williams on “Morrissey” and Britpop + More New Music

I’m trying to catch up on new releases, so the following reviews are for music that came out in January, but not necessarily today and, not everything released on January 23, 2026 appears in this post. This week’s batch of reviews includes Robbie Williams Britpop, The Cribs Selling a Vibe, Maria Somerville Luster (Remixes) and Draag Miracle Drug. Keep reading for the details.
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January 23, 2026
Club Underground x Synthwaves + More Happening in L.A. 1/22-1/28/26

I’ll be playing darkwave and modern post-punk upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Underground x Synthwaves on Friday, January 23 (Pic: Liz O.)

This Friday, January 23, Underground and Synthwaves are back with a two-room party at Grand Star Jazz Club. I’ll be in the Synthwaves room, which is upstairs, playing darkwave and post-punk, think along the lines of Boy Harsher, Molchat Doma, French Police, etc. Tickets are available now and you should snap yours up because it’s basically two clubs for one very reasonable cover price. Head over to Dice or Eventbrite to do just that. We’re playing until 2 a.m., so if you already going to Austra at the Roxy or Dan Deacon at Teragram, stop by after the show to hit the dance floor.

Keep reading for my recommendations for the rest of this weekend and early next week.
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January 21, 2026
How I Learned to Like Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier, January 2026 (Pic: Liz O.)

We’re walking back to the Metro station from the Santa Monica Pier and a news broadcast catches my ear. “A patent for AirPods that can read your brainwaves,” the voice says. I’m pretty sure that’s an old story, but it still prompts me to look to the side, where I see a cell phone strapped to a large speaker that’s propped up in a wheelchair. Standing next to the wheelchair is the person who I assume wants us all to know that Big Tech is out to read our minds. I think there’s a manifesto printed on the back of the person’s t-shirt, but I’m too far away to read it.
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January 19, 2026
Chromatics, Chumbawamba + More of What You Heard at Club Underground 1/16/26

View from the DJ booth (Pic: Liz O.)

Played the second half of the night in the Underground room for Club Underground x Synthwaves last night. Fantastic crowd, as always. Got in a nod to David Lynch with a remix of Chromatics’ song “Shadow.” Didn’t play anything extremely new, but did get in some of last year’s faves, like Sextile “Rearrange” and Confidence Man and Jade “Gossip.” Dropped in “Tubthumping” near the end for a reason. Heed the wisdom of Chumbawamba, friends. Set list is below. New-ish stuff links back to other mentions on this blog.
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January 17, 2026