Live Review: Lebanon Hanover @ Black Cat — 10/22/25

Darkwave synthpop band Lebanon Hanover made it to the Black Cat recently for their first-ever show in Washington, DC. The European duo have toured the United States before but it wasn’t until the release of their latest album, Asylum Lullabies, that they made it here.

That said, Lebanon Hanover played only one song from the new album — “Parrots” — in their encore! The rest of the show was a baker’s dozen of dance tunes picked from across their catalog and back to their first studio album, 2012’s The World Is Getting Colder. These selections held the fully engaged audience spellbound as Larissa Iceglass and William Maybelline brought down the temperature in the room!

At Black Cat on Oct. 22, Larissa and William favored The World Is Getting Colder in their setlist, performing “Ice Cave” and “Die World II” early in the evening and later playing “Kunst” and “Totally Tot.” Generally, Larissa stayed in a fixed position on stage right, playing guitar and drifting to the synthesizer. She sang most of the songs. William fixed himself to stage left, playing bass and leading vocals on a handful of selections like the minimalist “Totally Tot.”

Perhaps the most striking songs in the Lebanon Hanover set were “Sadness In Rebellion” and “Gallowdance,” which appeared early in the second half. Both tracks appear on their 2013 album Tomb for Two. “Gallowdance” remains the band’s most recognizable number — and for good reason. The song’s driving melody is reminscient of the early ’80s beats of Lebanon Hanover’s heroes The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and its ghostly vocals are spooky in a way that complements the music.

Watch the official music video for “Gallowdance” by Lebanon Hanover on YouTube:

While Gallowdance was deservedly welcomed, I personally was pleasantly surprised by “Sadness Is Rebellion,” which actually makes a fascinating intellectual case for its existence. Larissa solemnly sings: “There is waves, waves of resistance/ Somewhere out there but there’s not enough of them/ Those graves are such a temptation/ If we don’t press rewind it will all end” — and I found it rather brilliant as a mission statement.

Lebanon Hanover’s encore consisted of one song each from their last two full-length albums — “The Last Thing” from Sci-Fi Sky (2020) and “Parrots” from Asylum Lullabies (2025), both released by their longtime home label Fabrika Records. “The Last Thing” was another personal favorite of mine from their show. It had a militaristic drum beat that would have been at home on an early New Order song. “Parrots” was a somewhat clever meditation on a lover that repeats things back to the narrator like the bird in the title, to much satisfaction.

Quite a large audience filled the Black Cat for Lebanon Hanover although it wasn’t quite sold out. It was an incredibly respectful showing given that the ticket price was on the higher side. The crowd was totally absorbed by the music, and the band were very much tuned into their environment. Although darkwave acts similar to Lebanon Hanover usually go a little north to Baltimore or slightly south to Richmond, it was truly a win for Black Cat to host Lebanon Hanover here in DC.

Catch Lebanon Hanover on tour!

Here are a few photos of Lebanon Hanover performing live at Black Cat on Oct. 22, 2025. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.