Tag: Moonlandingz

Top 30 albums of 2017: #’s 25 – 21

Who made the top 25?  Read on!

#25 – Dion Lunadon – self-titled

As the story goes, Dion Lunadon was restless during a break that his band, A Place to Bury Strangers, was taking in-between tour dates.  He focused that restless energy into this powerhouse of a record that mixes everything from noise-rock to psychobilly grooves.  Thank heavens for eager artists.

#24 – The Moonlandingz – Interplanetary Class Classics

A band that started out as a fictional joke between Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family ended up putting out one of the wildest records of 2017.  It’s a great mix of psychedelia, electro, disco, and otherworldly chaos.

#23 – Jake Xerxes Fussell – What in the Natural World

Good heavens, this album is beautiful.  It’s somewhere between blues and outlaw country and is most Jake Fussell and his acoustic guitar singing heartbreaking songs about being broke, lost loves, and the bravery of river men in old times.  It will leave you wondering why you hadn’t heard of him before now.

#22 – Ron Gallo – Heavy Meta

Ron Gallo is working damn hard to remind you that rock and roll isn’t dead (We are, however, according to him.), so it would do you good to pay attention to his Stooges-inspired riffs, vocals, and attitude.  He’s already planning a release early next year, so get on this now and hear the buzz.

#21 – The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody

The Flaming Lips continue their journey through other dimensions and exploration of death, life, and love with this weird mix of psychedelia and shimmering power pop.  The addition of guest vocals by Miley Cyrus is a nice touch as well.

Next up, the top 20!  Come back soon!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 10 singles of 2017: #’s 10 – 6

2017 was the first year in a long while when I bought singles and not just full albums or EP’s, so I thought I’d keep track of my favorites.  Here’s the first half of the list!

#10 – Marlon Williams – “Vampire Again”

Not only does this song have the sexiest groove of the year, it also has a great backstory.  Marlon Williams was bored on Halloween night in L.A. and noticed a local theatre was showing Nosferatu with a live orchestra performing music for the silent film.  He got high, dressed up as a vampire, and went to the event only to discover he was the only one in costume.  This is the story of that night.

#9 – Bebel Gilberto – “Creep” (live)

When my wife and I saw Bebel Gilberto in 2016, she played this song and mentioned that she was “thinking of releasing it.”  “Please do!” I yelled from the middle of the amphitheater.  She did, along with her wonderful EP Live at the Belly Up.  This song makes me cry every time I hear it.

#8 – Honey – “Dream Come Now”

Honey‘s fiery single “Dream Come Now” was one of the most exciting tracks I heard all year.  The opening guitar chaos made me immediately want to buy their album, New Moody Judy, which wasn’t available for another few months.  It was well worth the wait.

#7 – Ty Segall – “The Main Pretender”

This wild, groovy bit of soul-punk from Ty Segall is jaw-dropping, especially with the wicked saxophone work from Mikal Cronin.  This is like a lost Captain Beefheart track and a great example of Segall‘s love of multiple genres.

#6 – The Moonlandingz – “Black Hanz”

Weird, trippy, funky, and catchy, the Moonlandingz released “Black Hanz” and I was immediately hooked on them.  The chorus roots into your head and the song warps into a crazy dream sequence at one point.  It’s my favorite psychedelic track of the year.

Who’s in the top 5?  Tune in tomorrow, friends!

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Moonlandingz – Expanded (2015)

The Moonlandingz started as a bit of a joke between Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family when then created a fictional band. That band got so much hype that art turned into reality and the Moonlandingz released Expanded in 2015.

The EP starts with the instrumental “Exorcise Your Mammary Eyes,” which I think is code for “Stop staring at my tits.” A Sean Lennon “de-mix” of “Sweet Saturn Mine” (one of the Moonlandingz biggest hits so far) is next, and the slowing of what is normally a fast, brash tune only highlights the creepiness of the lyrics (which are mostly about having sex while you’re high). “Lay Yer Head Down on the Road” is almost a carnival midway song about getting high to escape reality, even though such an action might be a bad idea.

“Blow Football with J. Carpenter” sounds like something John Carpenter would brew up on his home synthesizers. It’s creepy and futuristic at the same time. “Psych Ersatz” is equally strange, mixing images of spooky things in the shadows with psychedelic loops, beats, and echoed vocals.

The EP ends with “The Man in the Lyfe Suite – Parts 1, 2, and 3.” It’s a wild trip full of fuzzed out guitars, frantic vocals, and rollercoaster beats and loops.

Expanded was a nice appetizer for their full-length follow-up, Interplanetary Class Classics (one of my favorite albums of 2017 so far). Both are well worth your time.

Keep your mind open.

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The Moonlandingz – Interplanetary Class Classics

Spawned by the folks in Fat White Family, the Eccentronic Research Council, and the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, the Moonlandingz’s debut album, Interplanetary Class Classics, is, according to a quote on the band’s website “…a derogatory slap in the face of good taste and decency, an album synthesized out of pure irresponsibility and sheer self-adoration.”

In other words, it’s one of the most fun records of the year. That shouldn’t be a surprise when it’s something cooked up as a goofy music project by GOASTT’s Sean Lennon and members of Fat White Family. The Moonlandingz were a fictional band in this project, and now that band has come to life.

Opener “Vessels” is a song about sex, possession, and / or addiction. The heavy back beat and 1980’s no wave synths give the whole song a dark, smarmy feel. Lead singer Lias Saoudi’s vocals get louder and more frantic as the song progresses, and the Waitresses-like saxophone cacophony only helps. “Sweet Saturn Mine” was the first single released by the band when they kind of, sort of existed. It has a wicked drum beat and synths Gary Numan would love. Saoudi sings about strange happenings in strange places and, I’m pretty sure, orgasms that don’t necessarily bring relief. The Eccentronic Research Council’s synthesizer work and drumbeats on this are sharp as a knife.

“Black Hanz” is great psychedelia, and one of those songs that is apparently bonkers live (judging from YouTube videos I’ve seen). It’s something you’d hear in a weird curio shop in San Francisco that has a secret disco in the basement. “I.D.S.” begins with spooky female vocals from Charlotte Kemp before Saoudi starts a chant and then a Sigue Sigue Sputnik-like beat rushes at you. “The Strangle of Anna” could be a long lost Raveonettes track with its fuzzed-out guitar, Phil Spector rhythm, and heavy reverbed vocals.

After the brief, creepy circus music instrumental of “Theme from Valhalla Dale,” the Moonlandingz deliver “The Rabies Are Back,” which is just as wild as you hope it will be. “I turned my back on Paris, when I heard their dogs do bite,” Saoudi sings at the beginning before he goes into a bit of a frenzy singing about werewolves. “Neuf Du Pape” is just as weird and funky, combining new wave with industrial.

You can guess the subject of “Glory Hole.” You might not guess that it seems to involve sex across the galaxy or that it has such a wicked beat. “Lufthansa Man” is cool space / lounge / synth rock. It deserves to be on your next playlist (or mixtape if you’re still old school) named “Damn Funky Tunes.”

The album ends with the apocalyptic, epic, and crazy “This Cities Undone.” I’m sure it slays live and inspires crowd chants and spastic dancing as the band sings about the end of the world and puts down killer beats and cuts. If the world is going to end, you might as well party to something like this.

You might as well crank this whole damn record. It’s one of the best, funkiest, and weirdest albums of the year. I hope this fictional band doesn’t disappear into the ether. I hope they stay outside the fourth wall for a while. Break your own fourth wall by letting this album into your head. It will do the rest for you.

Keep your mind open.

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Moonlandingz debut album out March 24th.

(featuring members of Fat White Family and Eccentronic Research Council)
Share video for ‘The Strangle of Anna’ on NME
Debut album INTERPLANETARY CLASS CLASSICS released March 24th via Chimera Music
Album includes guest appearances from Yoko Ono, Randy Jones (Village People) and Philip Oakey (The Human League). Co-produced by Sean Lennon
Tickets available for exclusive New York show May 11th at Rough Trade NYC

Credit; Chris Saunders
“A rip-roaring busman’s holiday…there’s a camp swagger to these motorik grooves.” Q
“Forging bombast with bravura, silliness with sentiment and homage with fist-clenched individuality, this is a trip worth taking, especially for those already acquainted. Like a defiant and brilliantly bonkers case of cosmic ordering coming off with flying colours, this is a release that – perhaps more than any of its main players associated projects – doubles up celebration of the possible. And how.“ The Quietus (lead review and read the interview)
“A deviant blend of filthy pop and pre-digital electronics….top drawer psycho-disco” MOJO
“Feral antics and louche anarchy!”  The Guardian
“For a ‘fictional’ band, The Moonlandingz have made a pretty great album.” (8/10) The Line Of Best Fit
The band name on everyone’s lips in the UK, The Moonlandingz, have teamed up with award winning video director and cinematographer, Dawn Shadforth and Robbie Ryan; the people that brought you the iconic video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, the gritty heartbreaking British film, ‘I, Daniel Blake’ and ‘American Honey’ (amongst many more), to bring you the brand new video for their latest single ‘The Strangle of Anna’, featuring the voice of Slow Club‘s Rebecca Lucy Taylor.
The Moonlandingz are the semi-fictional psych-pop group put together by Sheffield’s practical electronics wizards and analogue taxidermists, The Eccentronic Research Council (Adrian Flanagan and Dean Honer) and Fat White Family‘s Lias Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski.
 ‘The band previously shared Black Hanz, released as an EP late last year and included on the album. Both tracks have been on A list rotation on 6 Music in the UK on Lauren Laverne and Marc Riley‘s shows.
INTERPLANETARY CLASS CLASSICS  is released March 24th through Chimera Music and features guest appearances from Yoko Ono, Randy Jones (the Cowboy from The Village People), and Philip Oakey, along with drummer Ross Orton and bassist Mairead O’Connor. Written, recorded and produced by the band at studios in Sheffield and New York, it also features co-producer Sean Lennon on guitar and additional drums and bass and was mixed by legendary Flaming Lips/Tame Impala/MGMT producer, Dave Fridmann. The album is a feast of swirling juddering synths, wailing guitars, motorik stomp and extraordinary songwriting – weird, catchy, glorious and filthy pop.
The Moonlandingz have proven themselves to be one of the best live bands in the UK and kick off an 11 date headlining tour this week, before heading to Europe and ending with their biggest show to date at Village Underground in London on April 4th.
The band play an exclusive New York show on May 11th at Rough Trade NYC. Stay tuned for more news, including additional US appearances.

INTERPLANETARY CLASS CLASSICS TRACK LISTING:
1. Vessels
2. Sweet Saturn Mine
3. Black Hanz
4. I.D.S.
5. The Strangle Of Anna (feat. Rebecca Taylor of Slow Club)
6. Theme From Valhalladale
7. The Rabies Are Back
8. Neuf De Pape
9.  Glory Hole (feat. Randy Jones from Village People)
10. Lufthanza Man
11. This Cities Undone (feat. Yoko Ono & friendz)
Watch videos for Black Hanz and Sweet Saturn Mine (Sean Lennon De-Mix) – both directed by musician Charlotte Kemp Muhl (of The GOASTT)
The Black Hanz EP is available digitally, featuring a special mix (non-LP) and 3 other non-LP tracks:
Drop It Fauntleroy, The Cement Garden (interlude) & Psych Ersatz (ERC Rasper Four Eyes De-Mix).
LIVE SHOWS:
MARCH (UK):
22nd – Newcastle – Cluny
23rd – Glasgow – Stereo SOLD OUT
24th – Dublin – Whelans
25th –  Liverpool –  Invisible Wind Factory
28th –  Birmingham – Hare & Hounds SOLD OUT
29th – Nottingham – Rescue Rooms
30th – Manchester – Gorilla SOLD OUT
APRIL (UK/EUROPE):
1st  – Sheffield – Leadmill
2nd – Bristol –  Thekla SOLD OUT
3rd – Portsmouth – Wedgewood Rooms
4th –  London – Village Underground SOLD OUT
19th – Oxford – The Bullingdon
20th – Rouen – Le 106 Club
21st  – Bourges  – Le Printemps de Bourges Festival
22nd – Cologne  – Artheater
24th  – Berlin – Katine am Berghain
25th – Hamburg – Molotow
26th – Amsterdam – Paradiso
27th  – Paris – Point FMR
MAY (US):
11th – Brooklyn  – Rough Trade NYC
The Moonlandingz online: