Pup Tent
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