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Romantica

EMAILPRINTby Luna

Luna reviews
76
8.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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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.

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...

90

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.

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80

Alternative Press

Largely standard Luna fare: smooth, loungey, literate alt-pop with quirky yet instantly moving melodies. [Apr 2002, p.79]

80

Stylus Magazine

The songs are light, the production both relaxed and relaxing... the music breathes.

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80

Uncut

Six albums on and Luna have never sounded better. [Jul 2002, p.112]

80

Mojo

Exuberant and undeniable... if you don't own a Luna album, start here. [Aug 2002, p.112]

80

Magnet

It finds Wareham in rare form. [#54, p.95]

80

Q Magazine

Buoyed by a blissful, lovestruck mood, this album's sumptuous tone elevates it beyond familiar terrain. [Aug 2002, p.128]

80

Billboard

By making an album that's utterly listenable without sacrificing its integrity, Luna provides the season's greatest guilty pleasure--without the guilt.

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80

Splendid

The songs are simpler, livelier, a little more direct and a lot more hummable.

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80

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.

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78

Pitchfork

What separates the album from previous Luna product is not so much instrumental alterations as the newly unabashed sentimentality of Wareham's lyrics.

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70

Resonance

Minor missteps aside, Romantica is a very good album of compelling, original verses. [#34, p.68]

70

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.

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70

PopMatters

A solid, thoroughly pleasing and engaging record that is certain to delight the fans who continue to pay attention.

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67

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.

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60

Blender

Romantica is Luna's most energetic record ever. Which isn't saying much. [Apr/May 2002, p.115]

60

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.

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60

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Just another average album by a band that has proved it can make great ones.

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50

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.

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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.

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