Not that The Moonlandingz had ever, technically, split up. The experimental act-cum-supergroup-cum-best-
The Moonlandingz have given us two EPs, a short but glorious string of live appearances, and a single album – but what an album it was: brilliantly imaginative, crafty, cheeky, irreverent, complicated, and full of instant earworms, incorporating collaborations with the likes of Rebecca Lucy Taylor and even Yoko Ono, ‘Interplanetary Class Classics’ (a title showing a remarkable amount of self-awareness) was pretty much the definition of a cult classic. It was broadly understood that such sparks of brilliance happen rarely, in a brief but happy junction, and don’t last long. The chapter seemed closed; the music, worthy of endless replays as it is, came across increasingly as a bizarre and delightful accident of life.
Of course, The Moonlandingz have from their very beginning delighted in being unpredictable, and so here they are again, a good seven years later, playing live in a venue that has exactly the right kind of ambience for their very specific brand of gleeful chaos and with a second album in the pipeline. Walking into the gig – the occasion for which was the 20th anniversary of Transgressive Records – the first impression was that the crowd, and a pleasantly varied crowd at that, had been hoping for such a return all this time without actually believing it possible. And while components of the audience certainly skewed older, it was very satisfying to see people crowding against the barrier who must have been too young to listen to the original record when it first came out: a clear sign of its longevity and persistent ability to fascinate, but also a promising sign of the fact that the younger generations are far from deaf to the allure of weird rock music.
First, however, the support acts. University took to the stage first, also with a display of promising signs concerning the musical taste of the much-maligned younger generation. While the set as a whole was not the tightest ever – some tracks could have been just a little shorter, some could have benefited from a little bit more focus – it had lots of heart and lots of guts, and there is something encouraging and satisfying alike in seeing a band so young be so boldly experimental. Supported by some gorgeous drumming and some memorable bass lines, and with a very clear idea of what they want their stage presence to be like, they delivered first and foremost a promise of something truly intriguing just a little down the line.
They were followed on stage by Hot Wax, whose set, on the other hand, condensed the very spirit of old-fashioned punk fun. It is the kind of music that demands to be played live and danced to, fast-paced, punchy, and energetic, and it sounds just that little bit retro without sounding old or stale. Here too stage presence was a big part of the show: with echoes of Blondie and of Hole, their performance was classic punk-rock with a little touch of grunge, moving fast and easily engaging the room.
These two supports, in a way, are a good representation of the main act’s two souls. A brainchild of Adrian Flanagan (of Eccentronic Research Council and, more recently, Acid Klaus), his bandmate Dean Honer, and Lias Saoudi (of Fat White Family fame, but also seen as the vocalist of sultry house music outfit Decius), the band incorporates into its sound elements that have their roots in the different backgrounds of their members, several of which should not, at least on paper, work well together. The fact that this did not stop the band from putting them together anyway and, more impressively, the fact that they actually work is the foundation on which the Moonlandingz’ very distinctive voice is built. Experimental electronica and a fascination for all sorts of odd sounds blends with a clear love – which, like all true love, is coloured by more than a hint of irony – for the old glories of classic rock, of the type developed in that couple of decades where rock music became increasingly adjacent to, and eventually blurred into, performance art. Most of the tracks, old and new alike, are poignant and humorous (and, more often than not, poignant because they are humorous); many have unexpected rhythm shifts and play with mixing together a truly eclectic array of sounds and references. All work beautifully in the studio for their attention to detail and quirky execution, and equally beautifully live for the uniquely chaotic energy they manage to channel – and the fact that the band is clearly having a lot of fun.
That distinctive stage presence is embodied first and foremost by Saoudi-as-Johnny Rocket, the enigmatic and potentially narcissistic fictional frontman with a penchant for cling-filming all sorts of items (in this case, most classically, a pair of fried eggs) to his body, who is at the same time tribute and caricature of a certain type of Jagger- or Bowie-esque performer-musician the likes of which are increasingly rare in contemporary music. For someone who has written at length about the impending death of the guitar band as a dominant force in contemporary music, it is quite ironic that Saoudi keeps confirming himself as one of the most charismatic vocalists in the UK music scene. Here his performance strikes a perfect blend of boldness, sarcasm, and vulnerability that makes his Johnny Rocket oddly compelling and just a little bit tragic. Also speaking of vocals, a brilliant new acquisition to the band’s line-up comes from Hannah Hu, who is truly an added strength to the Moonlandingz’ overall sound, performing brilliantly on old classics like ‘The Strangle of Anna’ and ‘This Cities Undone’ and adding a whole new layer of depth to other familiar songs. The setlist struck a very good balance between the old material and the new: the crowd got its favourites – ‘Neuf du Pape’ and ‘The Rabies are Back’ in particular were responsible for a good deal of moshing – and the new tracks sounded even sharper, more layered, and more ambitious than the old. If one of the purposes of the gig was to generate some high expectations about an upcoming album, that was more than fulfilled.
Another purpose, however – the very purpose, one might argue, that makes the Moonlandingz to be great – was simply to have fun, and that is not to be scoffed at in a time of moral art where all artistic production seems compelled to derive its worth from a higher meaning. Perhaps, leaving this gig, the ultimate message to take home is exactly this: when all is said and done, with their exciting blend of electronica and rock, of politics and humour, of the gritty and the surreal, the Moonlandingz are a lot of fun. It might be exactly what a music scene dominated by reunions, dynamic pricings, and identity crises needs.
Chiara Strazzulla
Images: Amy Ryan
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