The Sign Of A Man And The Birth Of A Smirk

The Moonlandingz have returned with their first single in eight years. The Moonlandingz are a trio- Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family, Decius), Adrian Flanagan (Acid Klaus) and Dean Honer (All Seeing I, Add N To X)- and have cooked up The Sign Of A Man, with Lias in fine form on vocals over hyperactive Europop (not far musically from last year's Acid Klaus single on GLS). The video looks like New Order's True Faith crossed with Bauhaus (the design school not the goth band). It's all good fun and an album is promised later this year. There won't be many songs this year dissecting modern masculinity while containing the line 'if you take out the bins'. 

Lias is busy with Decius as well. Birth Of A Smirk is the second single ahead of their second album out this Friday, a housed up song with with more 80s vibes, this time Visage but spliced with bleep techno. Everything Lias is involved with is gold- last year's Fat White Family album for a recent example, not mention last autumn's Decius single Walking In The Heat, in which Lias had fun cleaning the car. 

Walking In The Heat

I still have a load of photos from our holiday in Fuerteventura that I haven't used as images for this blog. I should probably stop using them now.  As we approach the end of September it makes me a bit sad to keep seeing beautiful Canarian beaches and landscapes, and sunshine in the heat of early August when we've got a British winter ahead of us. At least today's song and photo have a link though. 

Walking In The Heat is the new song from Decius, a four minute long, sexually charged electronic romp with a video that you might want to think twice about watching if you're at work or in the presence of small children, if you don't to have to answer too many questions about what's going on and why- a virtually naked man in the boot of 1970s hatchback, a car wash, said man in nothing but leather underpants washing the car in a manner which could be described as sexual. It's very funny. The track is a blast too, juddering synths and electronic drums, moaning voices and Lias' falsetto vocal.

Decius are Lias Saoudi from Fat White Family with Luke and Liam from Trashmouth Records and Quinn from Paranoid London. Their first album, Decius Volume 1, sounded like an acid disco in a gay sauna. It was one of my favourite records of 2022, a record that The Quietus described as 'sordid. hilarious and hardcore'. I reviewed it for Ban Ban Ton Ton. The review at The Quietus was a fine read, knocking mine into a cocked hat. 

Masculine Encounter

I've been writing reviews this year for Dr. Rob's standard setting, all- things- Balearic blog Ban Ban Ton Ton. Most recently I reviewed the new album by Decius, a group made up of members of Fat White Family, Paranoid London and Trashmouth Records. Decius have pulled together a bunch of tracks recorded and released as 12" singles into Decius Vol. 1, a riot of electronic dance music sounds, the thump of house with the sleaze of disco, and with Fat White Family singer Lias Saoudi on vocals, a romp through gay nightlife, bars, clubs and bathhouses, emerging blinking into the city streets at dawn having had the night of one's life. It is both ridiculously tongue in cheek and completely serious- song titles such as Masculine Encounter, Look Like A Man, Quick Reliefs, Bitch Tracker and Roberto's Tumescence might give you an idea what to expect. The review is here. The album can be bought here. 

Masculine Encounter II

Decius was a Roman emperor, ruling from the year 249 to 251, a distinguished senator who was proclaimed emperor by his troops after defeating a rebellion. He had a thing about persecuting Christians and had Pope Fabian put to death. Decius died in June 251 at the Battle of Arbritus, killed by Goths. We can only hope the band Decius avoid such a fate. 

If you're after high quality dance music with an edge you could also do worse than have a look at the three EPs New York label Throne Of Blood have released this year, a celebration of their sixteenth birthday. I reviewed all three EPs for Ban Ban Ton Ton. There are twelve tracks across the three releases, every single one a banger- EP 1 has Chloe, Liona, Justin Cudmore and Joakim and Max Pask. EP 2 features an outstanding Hardway Bros track plus Hapa, Curses and Split Sec. EP 3 has tracks by Pleasure Planet, Danse Alice, Man Power and Teleseen. My review of EPs 1 and 2 is here and the one of EP 3 is here and you can listen to/ buy EP 1 here, EP 2 here and EP 3 here.