Track Listing

1. IHOP
2. Beautiful View
3. Pup Tent
4. Bobby Peru
5. Beggar's Bliss
6. Tracy I Love You
7. Whispers
8. City Kitty
9. Creeps
10. Fuzzy Wuzzy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112753 in Music
• Published on: 1997
• Released on: 1997-07-29
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
After splitting with the influential indie-rock trio Galaxie 500, native New Zealander-turned-resident New Yorker Dean Wareham devoted himself to honing the gentle, melodic, Velvet Underground-circa-"Candy Says" sound of his old band in the increasingly sterile and perfectionist twin-guitar outings of his new group, Luna. Guitar buffs may have been impressed by the occasional E-bowed solo, the spooky layers of feedback, or the cool chorused tones offered up by Wareham and Sean Eden. But 1992's Lunapark, '94's Bewitched, and '95's Penthouse didn't have much beyond that to keep you coming back, and it seemed as if the band's career peaked when snippets from the last album were used in a TV commercial for Calvin Klein's CK-1. It's surprising, then, that Pup Tent boasts the most memorable tunes that Wareham has written since Galaxie 500's This Is Our Music back in 1990. Lyrics have always been an afterthought for Wareham, who sings a bit like Neil Young with an adenoid problem, and tunes such as the title track and the opening "IHOP" are no exception. Among my favorite lyrical toss-offs: "Is there a doctor in the house / In the House of Pancakes?" and "You stand accused of smoking English cigarettes / That's a provocation if ever one was." Thankfully, these lines are paired with indelible guitar hooks and inventive six-string soundscapes. Propelled by new drummer Lee Wall (who replaces the rather rigid former Feelie, Stanley Demeski), Luna sounds looser, grittier, and more stoked-up than it ever has. --Jim Derogatis

Customer Reviews

...a shining example of Luna's new approach
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.

A Pleasant Surprise
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.

It unfolds and then unfolds again...
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