Customer Reviews

Pup Tent

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Luna are no strangers to critical acclaim. In fact their talent, and reverence for rock's original critical darlings The Velvet Underground have brought the sort of universally rave reviews from the rock intelligencia that are usually reserved for bands so obscure that only rock critics have heard of them.

With "Pup Tent", Luna has taken an adventurous turn. From the first eerie feedback swells that begin "Ihop", it is clear that this album, the band's fourth long-player is a departure from the style the band established with their earlier work. Yes, the chiming guitars are still present, as is Dean Wareham's trademark reptillion baritone. The best example of this new direction can be found in "Beautiful View" which skillfully layers delay-soaked guitars with slide guitar, all set to one of the most driving, funky (yes, really!) Luna rhythm tracks to date. There is some more familiar fare on "Pup Tent", such as the highly Luna-esque "Bobby Peru" with its lazy guitar hook which would be right at home on "Penthouse" or "Bewitched". Ditto for "Whispers", an aptly named tune which builds in intensity from a characteristically plodding beginning.

The real gems on "Pup Tent" are the songs in which Wareham, Justin Harwood and company push the boundaries of their former sound, as in the title track, where they experiment with ambient noises and distorted vocals. Harwood's deliciously tweaked bass tone on "The Creeps" is yet another shining example of Luna's new approach.

While Pup Tent does not approach the masterpiece standard set by Bewitched, it is nevertheless a fine album, and shows an intriguing new side to rock's most cunning traditionalists.

I wasn't familiar with Luna prior to buying Pupo Tent and I guess I'm still not, so I'm not qualified to talk about their transformation or growth. What I cvan comment on is that this is an excellent disc and every time I listen to it, a different song stands out. Bobby Peru is my personal favorite, but the disc is solid from top to bottom. I originally bought it because of the compaisons to VU, and more recently Yo La Tengo, but it has grown into its own genre. I'd recommend it for anyone who knows that alternative music goes beyond Matchbox 20 and their contemporaries.

I read in a magazine review (Mojo I think) that this album had an 'all embarcing darkness' and I'm not sure that's right, what it has got is atmosphere and enough musical complexity to make it relistenable. There's more opauqeness than darkness to this album, more a slighly cynicle observation rather than some kind of nhillistic judgement. The songs are all creatively different enough to keep things interesting whilst there's still a synthesis of theme to the music that makes the album better than the sum of its parts...brilliant stuff

This is one of the great Luna albums that just seems to always slip under the radar. The album flows well and always seems to get a lot of playtime at my house. If you are new to Luna, you can't go wrong with Puptent.

This is an "album" in the truest sense. Complete in and of itself.
Perfect start to finish

For some crazy ass reason, many Luna fans think Pup Tent sub-par, but it is actually a melodic and introspective album that deserves the highest praise. Beautiful View, Beggar's Bliss, Pup Tent, and Ihop are among the highlights of a CD that you will not regret buying!

Luna stumbled on this one. The first three albums were wonderful. As a Galaxie 500 fan from way back I was relieved that Wareham continued to record decent music (I've never listened to music made by the other two thirds of G500). But on Pup Tent Mr. Wareham seemed to have temporarily run out of ideas, both musical and lyrical. This isn't a bad album; it's just not up to Luna's standards. I miss Stanley Demeski's driving beats (which propelled the Feelies so compellingly) and found the production on this CD to be rather flat. A CD for completists only.