It was raining in L.A. on the Saturday before Thanksgiving—and not just because Franc Moody sang it so—but the wet weather around town did nothing to dampen the vibes inside The Bellwether, where the London-based electronic funk band had fans dancing and shouting to its expanding catalog. Nor did the precipitation outside stop the dynamic duo of Ned Franc and Jon Moody from pulling off an exciting surprise.
Midway through their set, they welcomed Amber Mark to perform “Lose My Cool”, a track that Franc Moody remixed back in 2017. That collaboration came before the band had made a name for itself. It wasn’t until 2018 that Franc Moody broke through with “Dopamine”—one of the final songs of the night in Los Angeles—which racked up millions of streams.
In the six years since then, Ned and Jon have produced their fair share of bops, many of which originated with their debut LP, 2020’s Dream in Colour. It came as no surprise to hear that album contribute a plurality of tracks to their latest Southern California swing.
The trend started early, with the introductory trio of “Dream in Colour”, “Terra Firma”, and “Skin on Skin” mirroring the opening from the aforementioned album. The middle of the show saw a boogie-friendly run of “Flesh and Blood”, “Night Flight”, and “She’s Too Good For Me”, not long after the audience got hyped to “Charge Me Up”.
Franc Moody has hardly rested on its laurels since releasing that spectacular LP, though. The band’s 2021 EP, House of FM, put “Losing Touch” into the nightly rotation. 2022’s Into The Ether added “Cherry” and “Raining in LA” to the mix, including during their L.A. show.
Come March of 2025, Franc Moody’s catalog will expand yet again, courtesy of the group’s next album, Chewing The Fat. That LP got some run in L.A., with the thumping funk of “Going Through The Motions” and the dreamy “Driving On The Wrong Side Of The Road” providing an enticing preview of the upcoming drop.
As much as Franc Moody’s songs have done to put the duo on the map, it’s the band members’ combined onstage persona that sets them apart from other performing acts in the genre. While Ned keeps things cool as a cucumber on guitar, his partner in crime on keys and synths can always be counted on to bring his brand of fire and fury to the stage.
To that end, Jon didn’t disappoint in L.A. He went crowdsurfing during “In Transit”, showed off his passion on keytar during an encore of “Dance Moves”, and generally hopped around and banged his mohawk’d head (occasionally with a tambourine in hand) throughout the performance.
Unfortunately, fans of these U.K. funk lords may not get to see them in their full glory for some time. Franc Moody’s show at The Bellwether marked not only their final performance of 2024, but also the last on their schedule until April of 2025. By then, the band will have its new album to promote. They figure to do just that (and then some) when they emerge from winter hibernation to entertain London’s Brixton Academy, followed by the crowds they’ll see in Utrecht, Berlin and Copenhagen.
In the meantime, the band has hinted at some other upcoming appearances. An Instagram post after the L.A. show teased “a little DJ run across the pond” in December as well as “a little special something happening in LA.” Details on both engagements remain sparse, but one thing seems certain: No matter where, when, what, or how Franc Moody performs, it will be a party.
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