LCD Soundsystem, Eagles Of Death Metal, Last Shadow Puppets...
Alexandra Pollard

10:56 29th January 2016

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This year, European festivals seem to be competing for who can put together the most ridiculously brilliant line-up. This morning, Lowlands festival might have won.

The festival, which takes place in The Netherlands in August, will host LCD Soundsystem, The Last Shadow Puppets, Eagles Of Death Metal, Sigur Ros and many more.

And by 'many more', we mean Disclosure, Oscar And The Wolf, Chvrches, Jamie Woon, M83, Oh Wonder, Flatbush Zombies, Sum 41, Aurora, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Tiggs Da Author... Yep. It's ridiculous.

Biddinghuizen, the city that plays host to Lowlands, is just an hour's drive from Amsterdam too - so you can have a few touristy days before or after seeing some of the biggest bands around. Not too shabby.

See the full line-up for Lowlands, which takes place in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands, between 19 and 21 August, below. Get tickets and more information here.

 

  • 13. 'Tribulations': A highlight from the band's self-titled debut, and a perfect crystallised showcase of Murphy's ability to lean on the more esoteric side of electro to make music to make you reflect as well as dance, as he looks back on a life of mistakes and regret.

  • 12. 'All I Want': A modern response to David Bowie's 'Heroes', Murphy references Robert Fripp's classic guitar part to build this towering but elegiac soundscape over bittersweet lyrics about the pathetic pitfalls in being in love.

  • 11. 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House': The game-changing instant classic that perfectly captures the aesthetic of all that DFA do and the movement they inspired. Stick this on at any house party and wait for your home to be quickly demolished. Who doesn't love a good bit of cowbell?

  • 10. 'New York, I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down': Murphy at his most tender as he writes a conflicting love note to NYC - the city that welcomes you with open arms, but wears you down at every turn.

  • 9. 'North American Scum': The lead single from the immaculate Sound Of Silver, this rush of tongue-in-cheek dance-rock details Murphy's bemusement at being confused for an English band, along with Canadian tourmates Arcade Fire - who joined LCD on stage for the track's 'final' performance at Madison Square Garden when Win Butler unleashed the phrase "shut up and play the hits".

  • 8. 'Dance Yrself Clean': Without doubt one of greatest opening tracks of all time, this bubbling, nine minute dance rock odyssey is a perfect execution of tension and release - as we come together and dance to cleanse away our many, many sins.

  • 7. 'Losing My Edge': The song that started it all and the perfect introduction into the barbed wit of Mr James Murphy, as he takes a long hard look at his life and what it is to be an ageing hipster in an ever-changing scene - but still turns it into something so utterly joyful and escapist.

  • 6. 'You Can't Hide (Shame On You)': Written as part of the 45:33 sequence, this hidden gem really does deserve way more attention - it's just a work of pure, blissed-out dream disco and space-soul. The ultimate version features of Shut Up And Play The Hits with Reggie Watts on vocals - get it in your life at once

  • 5. 'Drunk Girls': We challenge you to find a better lyric than 'drunk girls know that love is an astronaut; it comes back but it's never the same'.

  • 4. 'Someone Great': Absence is a presence - a presence felt in spades in this gentle, mournful masterpiece.

  • 3. 'Yeah (Crass version)': You feel the urgency and compulsion of Murphy's spirit in the line 'everyone keeps on talking about it, nobody's getting it done' - which is then lifted ever-skyward in this insane 10 minute exercise of pure abandon. Watching it live is one of the greatest things anyone can ever experience.

  • 2. 'Home': The closer of LCD's final album This Is Happening, as Murphy uses the full breadth of his sonic palette to explore the catharsis of knowing exactly where you belong, both at the best of times and the worst of times - "look around you, you're surrounded, it won't get any better."

  • 1. 'All My Friends': Arguably among the finest singles of the 21st Century, 'All My Friends' sees Murphy's songwriting finally match up with calibre of his heroes - tipping his cap to Talking Heads, David Bowie and New Order while sounding totally in a field of his own. A gentle propulsion and heartwarming tone overwhelms as Murphy pays tribute to the people who matter, reminding us all that it's your friends that keep you live and the memory of your betters that keeps you on your feet.

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Photo: WENN