The Moonlandingz have returned, seven long years after their debut. When they first emerged from Valhalla Dale they were a semi-fictional band bringing forth sticky squelchy pop songs to offer solace and punishment in the months following the Brexit vote and Trump’s first victory. Adrian Flanagan, Dean Honer and Lias Saoudi aka The Moonlandingz conspired with Yoko Ono, Rebecca Taylor, Phil Oakey and the Cowboy from The Village People to make one of the great albums of 2017 (if not all time), Interplanatary Class Classics. Now they return, when we need them the most. The tour follows the release of No Rocket Required, a raucous collection which features Nadine Shah, Iggy Pop, Jessica Winter and Ewen Bremner.
The Brudenell Social Club is a must visit stop on most tours, and Leeds is very glad to welcome them tonight. The set opens with Lias pasting on his finest Scottish accent for ‘Some People’s Music’, which is followed rapidly by the bizarrely wonderful ‘The Insects Have Been Shat On’. We are then blasted back to the simpler times of 2017 with their motoric backed, disco tinged banger double header of ‘Black Hanz’ and ‘IDS’. ‘Give Me More’ and ‘All Out of Pop’ are seamlessly executed and with the usual amount of banter and an dose of panache, they flick between the two albums, keeping fans guessing and the crowd bouncing. ‘The Rabies Are Back’ is a track that’s always attracted attention, and always gathers a laugh, tonight being no exception. Lias deepens his voice several octaves to perform ‘Roustabout’, no mean feat, giving the track a whole new, somewhat haunting countenance compared to its recorded counterpart. The immensely silly ‘Neuf de Pape’ and their comeback single ‘Sign of a Man’ make for one hell of a combination and see the intimate venue lost in music.
An exceptional band who may have started out for a bit of a laugh, but who are now selling out venues across the UK. Where next, Europe, the world, outer space…?
