Luna

-1996

So how are my two favorite low-key Sterling Morrison--inspired strum bands doing these days?

Luna continue to astound me with their utter rightness, and with each new release from them I repent again for having dismissed Galaxie 500 so harshly. (It's not like I didn't have a chance to give them a fair hearing--my band opened for them once.) This EP comprises the Dream Syndicate-flavored Penthouse track "Sideshow by the Seashore," accompanied by five new songs. The now-traditional tribute to Luna's early New York heroes is a neat version of Talking Heads' "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" done in the style of the Feelies circa Crazy Rhythms. Also covered is "No Regrets," a Tom Rush folk-pop ballad that ends the EP with a smear of Left Banke cellos. As for the new originals, "The Moviegoer" is a wry raga-rock vignette that rises and falls with swell psychedelic guitars and organ. "It's Bringing You Down" is a twangy waltz with a whammybar-dominated lead guitar that never shuts up but sounds so good you don't want it to (think Jorma Kaukonen on After Bathing at Baxter's). "The Enabler" is an exquisite, spontaneous-sounding instrumental that rides one chord to a swaying, nodding rhythm as guitars surge forward and drums drag softly, broken up by a gently floating three-chord bridge. Why do I never tire of music like this? John Lee Hooker fans must feel the same.

Bedhead work a very similar patch of ground (Matt Kadane's voice even bears a strong resemblance to Dean Wareham's), but there's no confusing the two. It's not just the lower fi (Bedhead are catching up in the clarity department, but they still record everything live in the studio, and sound like it--gloriously), or Trini Martinez's heavier, snare-dominated drumming. Bedhead approach the same musical genre with the solemnity of ritual, making each chord change sound like the earth turning on its axis. Where Luna offer whimsy, Bedhead respond with weight. On this EP (two songs and one breathtaking instrumental), the lyrics are still predominantly about sleep--a genuine obsession for this bunch.

--J Neo, Puncture