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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Romantica
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Jetset
Release Date: 23 April 2002
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Rock
Summary
Luna's sixth studio album is their first on new label Jetset, and also their first (aside from Luna Live!) to feature Brita Phillips on bass (replacing Justin Harwood, and leaving Dean Wareham as the sole founding member remaining). The all-star production team of Gene Holder and Dave Fridmann were behind the boards for these 12 new tracks.
Also By This Artist: Close Cover Before Striking [EP] Live! Rendezvous
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham: L'Avventura Dean & Britta: Back Numbers
Also On The Web: Jetset Records Official Luna Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
All Music Guide
Romantica charges out of the gate with a new vigor, brightness, and sensitivity that, in retrospect, hasn't really come together within one package for them since maybe Bewitched.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
Largely standard Luna fare: smooth, loungey, literate alt-pop with quirky yet instantly moving melodies. [Apr 2002, p.79]
Stylus Magazine
The songs are light, the production both relaxed and relaxing... the music breathes.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Six albums on and Luna have never sounded better. [Jul 2002, p.112]
Mojo
Exuberant and undeniable... if you don't own a Luna album, start here. [Aug 2002, p.112]
Magnet
It finds Wareham in rare form. [#54, p.95]
Q Magazine
Buoyed by a blissful, lovestruck mood, this album's sumptuous tone elevates it beyond familiar terrain. [Aug 2002, p.128]
Billboard
By making an album that's utterly listenable without sacrificing its integrity, Luna provides the season's greatest guilty pleasure--without the guilt.
Read Full Review >Splendid
The songs are simpler, livelier, a little more direct and a lot more hummable.
Read Full Review >Drawer B
The smarmy lyrics are back in full force, but the music is so crisp, clean, and catchy that it hardly matters at all.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
What separates the album from previous Luna product is not so much instrumental alterations as the newly unabashed sentimentality of Wareham's lyrics.
Read Full Review >Resonance
Minor missteps aside, Romantica is a very good album of compelling, original verses. [#34, p.68]
Almost Cool
Fans of the group's early work might find the album a bit trying at first, but it's still the same old group for the most part.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
A solid, thoroughly pleasing and engaging record that is certain to delight the fans who continue to pay attention.
Read Full Review >E! Online
The sonic pleasure of the band's languid guitar balladry still pulses, and bassist Britta Phillips adds pleasant Stereolab-y vocals to some tracks, but there isn't much here you haven't heard before from Luna.
Read Full Review >Blender
Romantica is Luna's most energetic record ever. Which isn't saying much. [Apr/May 2002, p.115]
Rolling Stone
Nothing here is as strong as any of the standouts on Luna's mid-Nineties classic, Penthouse, but each of Wareham's songs is well-rounded and pleasantly wispy.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Just another average album by a band that has proved it can make great ones.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
The swapping out of Justin Harwood for Britta Phillips on bass seems to have enlivened things somewhat, but what starts so promising, sputters as the album progresses.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Romulus gave it a9:
A Fabulous Album
Voldav D. gave it a 7:
Listen, 'tis good. But in the Luna catalogue -- in the shadow of such tall trees as 'Penthouse', 'Pup Tent', and 'Bewitched' -- it leaves much to be desired. Second-tier Luna. Still, it is Luna, it is Dean Wareham, its great.
Jay S. gave it a 9:
It's too bad that Metacritic is not rating Close Cover Before Striking: an equally brilliant EP culled from the sessions of this fantastic LP.
Judson G gave it a 9:
It's a shame that Metacritic doesn't appear to be rating CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING, the folow up EP to Romantica - and an EP culled from its covers and b-sides sessions. Both releases are fantastic. That an album that, in any way, spawns material this good says one thing, but the caliber of said spawned material being this good is truly astounding. You need both off these if you have any taste for quality rock.
Digby Igby gave it a 10:
Dude, without a doubt!
Perry B. gave it a 9:
I think much like Pulp and Flaming Lips have done, LUNA has, albeit casually, picked up their bootstraps while reaffirmed their mission within the rock scene. Unfortunately LUNA set their bar at such stratospheric levels so early on that their previous two releases have largely been panned as "utterly forgettable". That's categorically absurd, especially regarding Pup Tent...but it's also a certainty that rock music and its fans are a fickle brood. It's nice to see some deserved folks get some props from a few sources outside the college radio circuit. Romantica does belong in your car, on, playing, teasing as you drive with reckless abandon to points unknown and far away. Hopefully their deal with Jetset will prove to be in the 'multi' column...
Brendan Y. gave it an 8:
Smooth and bittersweet, this album marks a welcomed upward swing for a group caught in the midst of a slow downward spiral. While not as lyrically clever or musically textured as the band's best work, Romantica is pleasant and refreshing nonetheless.
