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Blak Hanz

The Moonlandingz began as a figment in the imaginations of the Sheffield duo The Eccentronic Research Council, whose idea for a concept album about a fictional band by that name and an obsessive fan of theirs ended up with the no-longer-altogether-imaginary group recording some real songs. It helped matters no end that they were able to recruit Lias Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski of London-based reprobates The Fat While Family to take part.

The first song to surface from the project, 'Sweet Saturn Mine', knocked my socks off when I first heard it in 2015. In time there was a full Moonlandingz album (Interplanetary Class Classics), but before that there were a few EPs, including this one, Blak Hanz, a 10" record with four tracks issued in a limited edition of 500 copies in 2016. I'd missed out on the first couple of releases owing to lack of funds, but eagerly snapped this one up. 

As well as the queasy psych-pop of the title track, there's 'Drop It Fauntleroy', a catchy number not included on the album; 'The Cement Garden', an atmospheric instrumental interlude; and a re-mix (specifically 'The E.R.C Rasper Four Eyes De-Mix') of one of the first batch of Moonlandingz tracks 'Psych Ersatz'. Sean Lennon was somehow also involved, as he was on the album, contributing some guitar and production expertise.

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