Luna

Luna have a way of kicking off an album. Pup Tent doesn't match Bewitched or Penthouse but its opener, "IHOP" is a blast. The driving rocker features twisting guitars, a biting surreal comedy lyric and -- of course -- a hot trombone solo. The rest of Pup Tent is more laid-back, but the songs almost as good, with a mysterious atmosphere that is serenly addictive.

Within the cushy parameters of the smoothness that is Dean Wareham's spiritual discipline, this sonic construction is all stakes and clothesline, relishing the jerrybuilt almost as much as Penthouse did the luxurious. It's still hooky pop as well-savored guilty pleasure, still undercut by Wareham's pleasantly alienated lyrics. But voice and guitars sound more, well, tentative (get it?). Having given his all to the marketplace and stood there bemused as they gave him Smashing Pumpkins back, he isn't throwing in the towel yet. But damned if he's going to hire a cleaning service just to have people over for drinks. (Grade - A-)