Lulu Lewis, the duo of vocalist-songwriter Dylan Hundley and multi-instrumentalist-songwriter Pablo Martin, has amassed an impressive studio discography over the last decade, blending elements of synth-pop, post-punk, and electro pop into an edgy, danceable whole. On February 6, a welcome performance document arrives, as Lulu Lewis release Salon Lulu – Live at The Bridge via Ilegalia Records through Bandcamp.
That same evening, the group is playing live at the O+ Exchange Space at 334 Wall Street in Kingston, NY, and on February 20, they will be at the Strummer Bar venue for their debut in Buenos Aires. More on the latest from these erudite globetrotters below.
Salon Lulu – Live at The Bridge has a photo of a venue as its cover, and that’s sweet. But that space, the Two Bridges Luncheonette, is not where this live set was recorded. The locale was instead The Bridge Studio in Brooklyn, with the tight, robust performance captured with high-quality gear in crisp audio, taking place on May 10 of last year with an appreciative audience in attendance.
Why the Two Bridges Luncheonette? That was the Dimes Square venue and snack spot (no longer extant) that hosted the nine-week residency that evolved into the ongoing Lulu Lewis events program Salon Lulu. The Bridge Studio performance is described by Hundley as the culmination of the extended flow of musical expression and community building that began at Two Bridges Luncheonette and continues to thrive as Salon Lulu.
As an aural calling card for future Lulu Lewis shows, Salon Lulu – Live at The Bridge more than gets the job done, as Hundley (vocals, monotron synth) and Martin (guitar, drum machine, backing vox) are joined by Sami Buccella (pianos, synths), Bill Harvey (bass), and Bruce Martin (percussion, synth, backing vox).
A lot of electronics-based song-focused acts can sound tinny, flat, and uninspired in performance, but opening with “City Below the Hunter” from their 2019 LP Genuine Psychic, Lulu Lewis immediately establish a sound that is warm and organic without sacrificing the tech-laden distinctiveness of their studio work.
They move next into the pulsing, appealingly post-punky “Moving Fast,” also from Genuine Psychic, but half of Live at The Bridge’s selections are sourced from their 2022 LP Dyscopia. Those cuts are the grooving “Hit Your Town” and a back half sequential dive into the late ’70s Kraftwerk crossed with post-no wave Downtown NYC funk-throb of “Warrior,” the more sprightly new wave-ish funk-pop of “Fuckingtown,” Dyscopia’s sweetly electro-pop title track, and the tense ragged-tech reverberations of “Jungle Birds,” closing the set.
The release is filled out with the moody “Eternal Youth” from Genuine Psychic, the 2023 single “Destroy all Data” with its early Mute Records-like feel, and “Sinner,” their dark wave-esque goth-tinged 2025 single. As an introduction to Lulu Lewis, Salon Lulu – Live at The Bridge works great. For fans, it’s very necessary.
