Britta Phillips And Dean Wareham
Sonic Souvenirs (Jet Set Records)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Pop rock anthemists Luna (with such seminal albums as Pup Tent under their belt) have been staples of the college rock underground (they were when I was working as a late night DJ) for plum near a decade. Members Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham have branched from their staple project as CMJ darlings and created a moody psychedelic record (for Jet Set Records) called Sonic Souvenirs.

The course of this dually spawned side project is a bumpy one. It rises with "Your Baby (Can't Stand the Rain)" in slick, lush brush strokes then falls on hard moods when the dark star of "Knives From Bavaria (Spoonful of Fur)" sink in. Phillips (who sounds a lot like Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star) and Wareham present some great material, but fail to iron them out successfully. Such an inconsistency however is merely the plague of remix albums (which Sonic Souvenirs is) but shouldn't be their deconstruction (which for Sonic Souvenirs it isn't). Produced by Tony Visconti (Bowie, T-Rex) the influences of 70's space rock and glam are heavy and (for the most part) well intended. Fans of Luna (or albums where every song has a parenthetical attachment to its title (that is the case here)) will love the reinterpretations on Sonic Souvenirs.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz