Track Listing

1. Lovedust
2. Weird And Woozy
3. Black Postcards
4. Black Champagne
5. Swedish Fish
6. Renee Is Crying
7. Mermaid Eyes
8. 1995
9. Rememories
10. Dizzy
11. Orange Peel
12. Romantica

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45199 in Music
• Released on: 2002-06-10
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
You've got to credit Dean Wareham--he knows what he does best. On Romantica, Luna's sixth studio album, the former Galaxie 500 singer-songwriter continues to mine inspiration from the same triumvirate of moody guitar bands he has always coveted--Television, the Velvet Underground and the Soft Machine . But it's hard to complain when the results are as engaging and euphoric as Romantica. Buoyed by chiming chords, sweeping melodies and that distinctive soft-focus voice, songs like "Black Champagne" and "Rememories" are among some of his finest compositions to date. On the latter, Wareham sings, "It's been a long long long..." But with him, the journey has rarely been dull. --Aidin Vaziri

CD Description
After Luna bassist and founding member Justin Harwood left the band at the turn of the millennium, Britta Phillips tookhis place, and a new chapter of the band began. ROMANTICA, the group's sixth studio recording, is the document of a recharged band. All the familiar elements are in place--dizzying twin guitars, comfort-food melodies, and playful, if downcast, lyrics. But thanks to Gene Holder's gleeming productionand Dean Wareham's skilled and emotionally resonant songcraft, Luna reaches new levels of lushness here.
Luna's trademark mellow grooves show up in "Lovedust" and the beautiful"Black Postcards", but ROMANTICA displays a wide range of colours. Heavily tremoloed guitar snakes through the countryish, slightly surreal "Renee Is Crying", while strident drumslash out in the jealous rage of "1995". The swooning waltz "Swedish Fish", a song of regret, longing, and sensual delight, is one of the prettiest songs in the Luna canon. Arguably the group's most melodic album, ROMANTICA captures Luna atits peak.

Customer Reviews

A trillion stars
I chose to buy Romantica, after catching the MTV twice of "Love Dust" on cable. I figured that this is a band with some potential,if not underrated. I did not regret my decision with the purchase of this CD. No,not at all.

Dean Wareham continues to sing with his laid back vocals,adding a touch of cynicism and sadness to the beautiful guitars found in this album. Opening Romantica with the cheerful and upbeat "Love Dust". It is one with catchy guitar riffs, which I bet the radio stations will love.

Britta Phllips is a welcome edition too. See her vocals glow and seduce you in "Mermaid Eyes". It is by far my favourite track. With "Black Champagne", Luna manages to evoke this sense of bitter-sweetness found in the battles of the lovelorn. In "Renee Is Crying",well it is quite evident that there's some touches of a divorce lurking somewhere,with elements of pain that comes with it. The chorus goes like this,"Once we had dreams. Now we have schemes. My blood is bleeding. Can't you hear?" It is heartfelt, a wonderful track.

"1995" is,it seems to me, the only track that breaks away from the general hypnotism of the entire album. The guitars growl and the beats get harder. Maybe it was designed to be that way.

To conclude, Romantica is THE album to bring with you for those long rides...or to the beach. It is also the CD to put on for those rainy & dreary nights. It is such a beautiful, sad, happy and melancholic album. Nothing gets better than this.

Great album
Luna's latest release is in their typical style with the exception of the addition of some synthesized sounds. It's kept to a minimum on this album, so it's not too distracting from their distinct sound. Without the synthesized nonsense, this would be some of their best work. However, even with it, it's still very good.

Not Luna's Best
If you want to kick-start your Luna collection, then start off with Lunapark, Bewitched, Penthouse and the Slide EP. They far outweigh what is on offer with Luna's penultimate album Romantica. This is the first release that saw Luna running out of fresh ideas. Musically, it works less successfully of than any of their back catalogue. Their final album, Rendezvous, saw a return to form and was a great sign-off from a mighty band.