Customer Reviews

Rendezvous

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rendezvous marks the end of an era of beautiful, dreamy music from the highly underrated band Luna. After their early 2005 farewell tour, Luna will no longer exist. This album is amazing and nearly perfect in every way. The songs range from beat driven, energetic tracks like Speedbumps and Astronaut, to sweet and languid tunes like Cindy Tastes of Barbecue and Star Spangled Man.

One of the highlights of this album are the two songs written by guitarist Sean Eden, who provides lead vocals for the first and last time on a Luna album. Broken Chair and Still at Home sound somewhat different than typical Luna, but are beautiful and feature the amazing guitar work that has become synonymous with the band.

If you have never listened to Luna before, I highly recommend this album, as well as their third release Penthouse. These two albums are Luna at their finest.

Pop Kulcher Review: After 13 or so years, Luna is apparently calling it quits. I'm not sure if it's out of respect for this great band that many critics have raved about Rendezvous, purportedly their final album, but, alas, I've gotta say I find it only on par with recent efforts -- in other words, pefectly fine, but not up to the standards set by their first 4 albums. The first half of the band's existence was fantastic, a nice mix of Velvety drones and post-R.E.M. murky indie jangle hooks and retro-60s psychedelic grooves, but since their peak with 1995's Penthouse (and 1997's underrated Pup Tent), there's been a real lack of edge to their work. The more catchy pop tunes have been replaced by a languid, sexy groove -- many fine moments to play in the background while popping a bottle of champagne in a dark room, but not a lot of songs you'd be inclined to pay a lot of attention to -- and that same feel pervades much of Rendezvous. That's not to say it isn't a good album; Wareham's Reed-like sung-spoken warble can still captivate, and a few hooks do rise to the surface (i.e. the chipper "Malibu Love Nest" and "Astronaut," the simple guitar-driven "Buffalo Boots," the rocking "Speedbumps"). And this may appeal more to fans of Wareham's earlier band Galaxie 500 -- like much of that band's work, many of these songs start with a simple, understated verse/chorus structure and then veer into crescendoing trippy guitar raves. Unfortunately, the better moments are diluted by a couple contributions from guitarist Sean Eden; his songs aren't bad, but lack Wareham's distinctive style. Bottom line -- longtime fans will find moments here to love, but casual listeners or newbies should stick with Luna's glory days.

A 100% must have for any fan. It sounds a bit different than previous CD's. There's a pleasant bassy-guitar sound in most of the tracks that makes them sound warmer and more "live" than usual. The vocal tracks are also pushed up to the front -- again a good thing because the lyrics are great.

Why isnt this CD their best? There's a few tracks that are too quiet and drowsy-sounding for my tastes, but they aren't so bad. I'm thinking of The Owl and Pussycat, Broken Chair, and Motel Bambi. The falsetto voice in Broken Chair I could do without.

All of the other tracks are top-rate. Still at Home is a great track that builds nicely. Buffalo Boots drives forward with great guitar-work and drums. Cindy Tastes of BBQ is classic Luna -- ironic, witty and intelligent. The re-do of Astronaut has the warmer guitar-sound that all of the other tracks have, and it is a fine revision of one of Luna's best "pop" songs.

Luna is a great band and I am speechess that this will be their last CD. They'll never find this chemistry again if they disperse to other bands.

The conventional wisdom on Luna is that their artistic peak was around "Penthouse" or "Bewitched", and that their other releases are a mixed bag not as worth pursuing. As a true, unabashed Luna fanatic, I feel this is hogwash. As much as I love those two releases, much of Dean Wareham's best and underappreciated work is contained on such less heralded releases as the experimental "Pup Tent", the vastly underrated "Days of Our Nights" (a personal fave) and the lush, unashamedly romantic (by Luna standards mind you) "Romantica". See, my contention is that, from "Lunapark" onward, they have only gotten better with each successive release. A rarity in bands nowadays to be sure.

Having said that, this their final swansong (so they say) is as sublime as prime Luna gets, and is quite possibly their most consistently brilliant disc to date. As criminally under appreciated as they have been all their career, even mainstream critics have had to cop to the sheer blissful beauty that is "Rendezvous". Favoring a stripped-down back to basics approach, it's everything Luna should be: mysterious, witty, sexy, poignant, deep, celestial and delicious. Like Luna's best work, it's as comfortable as a chat with an old friend, yet so fresh and nuanced that it gets better with repeated listenings. Wareham's poetically absurd yet touching lyrics are the key as usual. His secret is never coming off as too snide or pleased with himself, or just plain sarcastic as many in this genre can. He's an artsy fartsy New York hipster who's never too cool bear his sensitive, tender heart. Just when you think he's over reached with a cheesy line (the one about the piggy wiggy with a ring in its nose in "The Owl and the Pussycat") he draws you back with a simple, down to earth observation or detail (like the line in "Rainbow Babe" about drinking Akvavit in plastic cups f'rinstance). Luna may be calling it a day, but I will always have their recorded output to carry me into that witty, urban, romantic dreamscape that is the stuff of their greatest tunes. For now, I will relax, a glass of Maker's Mark in hand, the one I love in my arms, while "Cindy Tastes of Barbecue" plays on the stereo. Luna is made for moments like this. They will be sorely missed.

Sad to say, this is their last (that we know) and like all other Luna recordings, as fine as they wanted it to be. One of the great bands of our day leaving us with another gem. All Luna fans share the same idea of 'why is this band not a household name? while also being secretly happy they are not and we can keep them to ourselves, thinking we are so cool to 'get them' while the rest of the world mindlessly seeks out all that less than average hyped crap out there..buy this cd because 1) its good 2) if enough are sold maybe it will influence them to do another...Life without anticipating the next Luna dish seems bland to me...Thanks for every note...

Luna's singer and principle songwriter Dean Wareham has announced this is the final Luna album. And I was disappointed to hear this. But honestly, Sean Eden, the other guitar player, writes and sings the two best songs on this new record. It may be sacrilege, but I think it's time to pull a Phil Collins (sorry, bad example) and promote this guy to lead singer.

In terms of general album critique, I do really like this record. It's less intense and dreamier than Romantica. I don't think it's the lyrical triumph Romantica was, but it's great to listen to. My main criticism is that I would not have included Astronaut. It seems too much like a last stab at a hit single for a band that doesn't need one. And it was already on the last EP, "Close Cover Before Striking." It just sticks out like a sore thumb and hurts the flow of an otherwise great record. Personally, I've taken it out of my iPod and the record is better for it.

Some say this is the best Luna album, but with all due respect, Penthouse is their all time best. The rest, while having some high points, really don't hold up over time. On Rendezvous, the sound has been refined from Velvets/Lou Reed influences to a blend of VU and Tom Verlaine/Television. This is also the first time they tinker around with a theremin. If it's not a theremin, it could be found sounds between stations from an old radio, giving it a little Wilco flavor. All in all, this one rates very close to Penthouse. There are a couple of duds, but on balance, a great CD. Something tells me this is not the last we'll hear from Wareham.

This is the best album as a whole since the Bewitched/Penthouse double whammy. Puptent and Days... contain some of my favorite Luna songs, I think Dear Diary is one of the best songs Wareham has penned, and there are a handful on Puptent that stand out similarly. But those two albums don't have what Bewitched, Penthouse and now Rendezvous have. As a whole Rendezvous works wonderfully and the variety (Eden's songs) is a welcome addition. Clean and understated production serves Luna the best, and this album showcases that. I think the songs segue well from one to another. The songwriting is the best of what one would expect from them. If you thought that Luna had stumbled with the last few releases, this is the one to bring you back into the fold. I've been a fan of Wareham's music since Today was released (I will never forget G500 and Kramer covering Ceremony at the Kennel Club in SF), and I think this is one of his best. Thank you, Luna, and goodnight.

while i lament that this may well be the final luna album, what a way to go! this work is simply otherworldly. "rendevous" is a dense, ecstatic, goose-bump inducing masterpiece. many great bands touch you physically and intellectually, but luna works into your marrow. if you can listen to "star-spangled man" at high volume and not shamelessly burst into a blissful, twirling, air-guitar wielding frezy, then there is simply something wrong with you.

This one doesn't have the hand full of immediately catchy songs that many Luna releases usually have, but as with everything they've released, proves more and more rewarding with repeated listens.

The band sounds completely comfortable with what they are doing from song to song, so you get a result that is both organic, yet polished. A pleasant surprise is that Sean Eden's vocal compositions are among the best on here. Rainbow Babe is also a favorite. The only misstep is Motel Bambi, which I personally really dislike.

It's a shame this met with such a limited release; it's ridiculous how much you have to pay to get even a used copy of this one. It's a B+ bookend to a very underrated band.