Penthouse

Luna

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 8, 1995)
• Original Release Date: August 8, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HJ2
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,298 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Chinatown

2. Sideshow by the Seashore

3. Moon Palace

4. Double Feature

5. 23 Minutes in Brussels

6. Lost in Space

7. Rhythm King

8. Kalamazoo

9. Hedgehog

10. Freakin' and Peakin'

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Heading for Tacoma / And driving too fast / Nixon's in a coma / And I hope it's gonna last," sings Dean Wareham on "Rhythm King," one of Penthouse's more cheerful tracks. Clearly, fans of Lloyd Cole and Television's Tom Verlaine can take heart: Galaxie 500 main man Wareham captures the wry and reflective spirit of both artists on this third album from his band Luna. Wareham's melancholy vocals and Sean Eden's pretty electric guitar shimmer brightly over the drony rhythms of ex-Feelies drummer Stan Demeski and Chills bassist Justin Harwood. Mr. Verlaine himself steps into the fray with some guest fretwork on "Moon Palace" and "23 Minutes in Brussels," which, like many Luna tracks, slowly builds and then drifts into gorgeous semiresolution. And don't miss that unlisted bonus track, a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier singing the Brigitte Bardot part. A sensitive band that hasn't forgotten how to rock, Luna have a talent for making songs of resignation and regret that are not only palatable but, after repeated listenings, positively addictive. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Daisy and Tom Buchanan Were Still Around..., June 5, 2001

By	James Carragher (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

they'd be listening to Luna and, as the speakers boomed out across the sound, Jay Gatsby would be at the end of his dock, trying to figure his way into their world by figuring out this music. Here's what Penthouse sounds like -- it sounds like languid, six foot tall women reaching across a glass topped table for their one cigarette a month. It sounds like lipstick traces on your cheek alone in a warm taxicab and the first snowflakes just getting flicked away by the windshield wipers. It sounds like one single light still softly on at 3 AM in the windows of an otherwise all dark building across Fifth Avenue from Central Park; awful things happening there perhaps, but you're pretty sure not. It's music that defines all those times you can't quite figure out what's going on, or where it may be headed, but God do you love it as it's happening. And there's the tie back to Gatsby and the Buchanans, no matter how seductive this work, there's a whiff of darkness about it too, but isn't that always the way with temptation. Personally, I've always wanted to be like the singer's friend in Chinatown --"you're out all night/chasing girlies/You're late to work/And you go home earlies." Yep, "earlies," that's what he says.

"Shimmers," see Amazon reviewer above, is a good word for the music; seamless would be another. And Wareham's voice is another instrument in the mix, sometimes lulling, sometimes quietly desperate. Or think of water, this music flows you along from one cut to the next, and in the time it takes you to surface from the cut just ended, a new one has begun. I don't know of another CD where I've been less aware of the blank seconds between cuts than on this one.

Specifics? Comparisons? The closest sound I know is some of the quieter Yo La Tengo. Lloyd Cole in the Commotions days is a good one too. Forced to pick best cuts -- and it's worth stressing again that each cut builds into the others, making it less important to cite individual highlights -- I'd go with Chinatown, Lost in Space, and Kalamazoo. I don't much care for Bonnie and Clyde, though. Otherwise, this CD is damn near flawless. You've got to go to Bewitched for Wareham's single best lines though in Going Home which kicks off like this: "I've seen her face/in those scented magazines....The Chrsyler building is talking to the Empire State/The Twin Towers are talking to each other/Saying "all is forgiven/I love you still/And we're home, going home." What could more comforting, reconciliation of buildings and of people. But to get that, you'd have to buy another Luna CD. Oh, well, many worse ways to keep the economy going.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, melodic tunes with euphoric instrumental climaxes, September 14, 1998

By A Customer

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.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Luna's Masterpiece, April 22, 2000

By	Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.