The Moonlandingz - Interplanetary Class Classics

Interplanetary Class Classics opens with Vessels. As the song develops the unhinged fictional front-man Johnny Rocket begins wailing incoherently (in a good way). It’s a terrific opener to a great album. Largely ICC can be described as fuzzy psychedelic synth-rock - Sweet Saturn Mine channels pumped-up percussion and spiralling synths. IDS feels as though it should be emanating from an alternative underground space nightclub, and The Strangle of Anna presents a well needed interval; while it’s necessary, the track is, however, far from the strongest on the album. The winner of that title belongs to The Rabies Are Back: it can only be described as resembling the sound of an amplifier being plugged into an insane space-psychopath. The effect of this is wonderfully exhilarating. The entire album is dominated by intentionally erratic bass lines and a strong sense of dark themes. The cohesive structure and a theme that does not make all tracks sound the same but similar enough for them to fit together results in a well-made album. However, the album could have finished on Lufthansa Man rather than This Cities Undone - it would have made the track list seem more carefully constructed - but it’s still an outstanding song.