Luna: surreal-pop about food, buildings and love

Why are bands like Luna so few and far between is the thought that bounces off cranium walls like an old vid-game of ping-pong all the way through the show? Luna is a band that can speak any musical language, more than fluently, and do although rap and R&B are omitted from their vocabulary because this band’s background is far from any ‘hoods; and, integrity appears to be paramount virtue to them.

The Luna’s musical expression is guitar pop with myriad deviations: ‘old-skool’ rock, ballads, alt.country, blues, psychedelia, West Coast, soul, jazz… And they have explored them all on six albums – the current ‘Romantica’ came out in June – to such a devastating effect. This is the band’s tenth anniversary although nobody mentions it on the night.

Luna formed in New York City back in 1992, on the ashes of Dean Warham’s collapsed band Galaxie 500. The current line-up, after few changes over the years, is Sean Eden (guitar, vocal), Lee Wall (drums) and, new recruit, Britta Phillips (bass, vocal). They perform a set that is rudimentary at times, jammingly grandiose the next and sublime the following.

Tunes take life on their own and us with it, us into some haven-like mind-spots where ugliness, crap-culture and cheap thrills are banned by taste and decency. Luna open the doors to the once quality-land with such authority that is criminal this band doesn’t command as much mass attention as Coldplay, for instance. When someone shouts a question about the band playing up North, Wareham reply is that they are (usually) not invited.

And that’s the story, the band remains a closely kept secret of well-clued minority who adore them to bits. The only possible reason for the band not being more visible is total lack of egos, onstage projection and showmanship. For Luna it’s all about music and thus, naturally, there is hardly any talk between songs… It’s good they got Britta on bass – apart from providing focus of fantasy for male fans and she is a fit bird if you are into blondes – because she is the only one who makes rare eye-contact with the adoring public, including a respectful looking greyhead huddling the stage.

It is also good to have her to add a different tone to the album as ‘Mermaid Eyes’ demonstrates; the band has got a valuable catalogue, from songs on ‘Romantica’ – ‘Black Postcards’, ‘Rememories’, ‘1995’ – to some long-favoured cuts of the ‘Moon Palace’, ‘Tiger Lily’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, ‘Indian Summer’ variety… The music is great but a bit more stage action is well worth considering.

Luna’s is surreal pop of a damn extraordinary standard!
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Before we click off, if you happen to think Ms Phillips looks familiar, she starred with Julia Roberts and Justine Bateman in ‘Satisfaction’, a film about an all-girl rock band. Wareham also did a little acting, making out with Justine Bateman in the independent comedy, ‘Highball’. Still, the true thespian in the band is Sean Eden, with a diploma from North Carolina School of the Arts, where he met Luna drummer, Lee Wall. By the way, the (latter) two collaborated on a side project, The Weeds of Eden.