Luna Album: “Penthouse”

Description :

Luna: Stanley Demeski (drums); Dean Wareham, Justin Harwood, Sean Eden. Additional personnel: Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Tom Verlaine (guitar, 12-string guitar). Producers: Luna, Pat McCarthy, Mario Salvati. The CD includes the unlisted track "Bonnie And Clyde." Putting on Luna's PENTHOUSE is like stepping into a warm bath. The coziness of Dean Wareham's and Sean Eden's twin chiming guitars, the resonant bass, the simple drum lines, all serve to seduce and relax. As on Luna's first two releases, Wareham's songwriting is clever and on-target, relying on simple chord progressions and memorable hooks, while skirting cliche. The shuffling melody of the album's opener, "Chinatown," for instance, is a fine example of Wareham's memorable songcraft and the band's shimmering dream-pop. The rest of the album follows suit, with the lovely, floating ballad "Lost in Space" and the up-tempo, almost-danceable "Double Feature" among the highlights. There is some particularly strong guitar work on PENTHOUSE, thanks in part to Television axe-master Tom Verlaine, who contributes some searing leads in the expansive breaks on "23 Minutes in Brussels." The clean production of the band's sophomore release, BEWITCHED, has been replaced here with the sonic wash heard on Luna's debut, so fans of the group's reverb-happy sound will find a return to form, in addition to strong instrumental performances and Wareham's excellent songs. A cover of the Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot duet "Bonnie and Clyde," performed with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier, is included as secret bonus track.

Penthouse has been in my heavy rotation ever since I first discovered it back in 95. Initially attracted to "Chinatown", a top-ten hit if ever there was one....How has this band avoided becoming huge? Listen to the building crescendo in "23 Minutes in Brussels". The final jam manages to simultaneously sound like a rolling freight train, ringing bells, a jackhammer and a chorus of angels singing the return of the Lord. Played at high volume, I can't keep myself from screaming with enjoyment. "Lost in Space" actually captures the feeling of being a million miles from Earth, Dean's guitar leads whispering beautifully from light-years away. But its the WHOLE RECORD, there's not a weak link. Wouldn't you think I'd be tired of a CD after 3 years of constant play? It's that good; buy it immediately, you'll thank me later.

Luna is an acquired taste. Featuring lazy, dreamlike guitar work and often bizzare lyrics (an example: "you can't give the finger to the blind" from their debut album). Nevertheless, "Penthouse" is a classic that proves that great guitar albums do not need to be fast and loud. The best tracks are the lengthy "23 Minutes in Brussels" and "Kalamazoo." Don't try to figure out what the lyrics mean. They're irrelevant. Just enjoy the sonic dreamscape.

Wow. This one grows on you. It is quite an achievement for a band to be so smooth, subtle, and melancholy, and yet can effectively "rock" an audience. This is an extremely refined group with strong lyrics and a musical execution as precise as a Swiss watch. Somehow, this album reminded me of some works by Velvet Underground. However, there is no doubt that Luna stand as an original act. A fine introduction to a fine band.

John Fogerty has been sued for sounding too much like himself - which is, of course, preposterous.

Luna is not my personal favorite band, but, as a music fan, it is thoroughly undeniable that this album is a masterpiece. I'm baffled at the truly staggering myopia some folks are stricken with when they accuse Luna of being Velvet Undergraound has-beens, wannabees, or charlatans. Art, all art, all art including the word, the painting, the film, etc., is a referential continuum. It is rather ok and, arguably, impossible for an artist to not have accute influences. Does Jack White dream of being Robert Plant? Nope. Robert Schneider of being Brian Wilson? Nope again. Jeff Tweedy of being Graham Parsons? Nope thrice. Dean Wareham of Lou Reed? You get the idea...

I cannot refute the bittersweet lustre of "art" being a wide open, nebulous bastion of opinion. Phonies, me-toos, and piggybackers do certainly exist. Get smart. Forget the American Express card, don't leave home without a shade of common sense.

As for the occasionally said disparate lyrics: Luna is clealry not the type of band to hand-hold a listener through a guessable story. You'll never get a ready made, audible TV dinner shoved into your ears. So don't hope for it or be dissappointed when this is discovered. It can and will make you think - which sometimes, though not by any means always, is a very good thing.

I never heard of Luna until I heard this album. I immediately fell in love with it. The sounds are mellow and smooth. It invokes the scene of a dimly light cafe, where people are relaxing with a good book, sipping coffee or engrossed in deep conversation. Many years have passed since I bought this album and it is still one of my favorite albums. I never tire of it. Now I have other Luna albums and they are great, but not as amazing as this one. This is Luna's masterpiece and one of the best albums around.