IT was never going to be difficult for the promoters to sell this gig out; the combination of a much-hyped band, a relatively intimate venue and a cancelled show at The Great Escape in May made for a crowded and excitable atmosphere at The Haunt.

Even if you've never heard The Moonlandingz' glam-tinged psychedelia, chances are you might be vaguely familiar with the Fat White Family, the London group who have earned a reputation as alternative rock's foremost rabble-rousers.

Lias Saudi is the hyperactive frontman of both bands, and he's joined in The Moonlandingz by members of synth group The Eccentronic Research Council as well as guitarist Mairead O'Connor. The grit and sheer power of the Fat White Family is complemented by the more propulsive energy of the ERC – especially in single Sweet Saturn Mine, an early highlight at The Haunt. Saudi, inexplicably clad in a blonde bob wig and slender black dress, howled the song's manic refrain – "I don't feel alright" – like a man possessed.

You might not expect coherence from a band who describe themselves, tongue firmly in cheek, as a "Ouija Psych Pop Super Group", but even by these standards you'd do well to make much sense of single Black Hanz.

"A black colossus gallops across the three shires" goes one randomly imagined line in the song's spoken word section. When the tension of that slower passage was relieved into a sudden crash of noise, the effect was thrilling.

Elsewhere, though, there was an impression that The Moonlandingz were overly reliant on that quiet/loud dynamic. The murky mix of the sound often made it difficult to identify individual elements of the songs – even lyrics – and at times the only thing to grab onto was the adrenaline rush of a change of tempo or one of Saudi's screams.

Not that The Haunt crowd seemed deterred; the floor was pulsing as the band rattled through closer Man in My Lyfe. For a group whose debut album was rightly lauded for its diversity of sound, however, it was a shame that this gig felt so one-dimensional.