The Aliens

Luna

Birdman

Nov 16, 2009 Issue #27 Summer 2009 - Jarvis Cocker By J. Pace Bookmark and Share

It's always funny reviewing an album after it's already been released in some form. Luna is finally coming out in America, but it was released in the U.K. in September 2008, which means reviews of it are already all over the Internet. One is presented with the challenge of not reading what has been written, lest it taint your own overblown appraisal. But fuck it, let's see: "Luna isn't for the faint-hearted, fashion-conscious or dull-witted" (NME); or "It's ultimately an album I didn't like as much as I wanted to, and one that doesn't really find its footing until it's almost over" (Pitchfork Media); or "The effect is not so much of fearless adventurers charting music's outer limits than Homer Simpson scoffing hallucinogens" (The Guardian); or "Luna is a psychedelic delight," (Observer Music Monthly).

So there, the vacuum is blown, and it's understood that this release merits drug, cartoon, patience, pants, and education-level references. So let's hop aboard the feedback loop and offer our own assessment of some art/commerce: seven out of ten. Why not? The hooks would persist without all the decoration, and the decoration is like three inches of psychoactive cake icing, saccharine and surreal, served out of a kitchen sink in the '60s.

The Aliens feature former members of The Beta Band and, like the work of their former band, this is a cinema-scale production. It begs you to embrace each wild turn, to just give in to the narcotic Twin Peaks flavor of "Daffodils;" the CSNY-goes-to-Reverbland vibe of "Boats;" that crazy turn in the infinite hook that is "Bobby's Song," where suddenly it's some kinda gypsy accordion jam; or the ending of "Theremin," all Brian Wilson at a campsite by the turnpike, the cars driving off and leaving an oddly wistful trail.

The Aliens are entirely unfocused. And Luna makes it clearer: that's the point. Every trickle of oddball humor or sound effects spells F-U-N. Do you have it? (www.thealiens.co.uk)

Author rating: 7/10

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Average reader rating: 7/10

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stainless steel sinks
February 2nd 2010
4:40am

What’s the difference between decoration and garnish in terms of food preparation?What is the purpose of using garnishing and decoration in food presentation?

car insurance company
April 15th 2010
2:16pm

I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about .... When he’s feeling lonely, dull or depressed, he thinks of the daffodils..