The Comedy of Errors: Luna [Peel Session] (13 June 1992)

The news that Genesis are reforming after a gap of 13 years to go out on tour made me think of Peel when it came to considering this session from Luna, who at the time they recorded it were presenting it as one of their first offerings since their founder, Dean Wareham had left his previous band, Galaxie 500, one of the most fondly regarded American bands of the late 1980s.  The comparison is tenuous, but just as Peel had little regard for Genesis while simultaneously giving supportive exposure and airplay to Genesis side-projects such as Brand X, so I find myself wholeheartedly embracing Wareham’s “new” band Luna as a trade-up on Galaxie 500 whose music I found, with the odd exception, to be monumentally dreary.

That’s not to say that Luna represented a complete reinvention for Wareham.  In fact, I’d almost classify Luna’s sound as being Galaxie 500 with attitude, but just as vulnerability was at the core of Galaxie 500, so the confidence on display in tracks such as session opener Crazy People, which allows Wareham to walk away from a relationship which isn’t providing any mutual satisfaction seems to be built not on deep rooted, unshakeable belief but on a series of affirmations drummed into him by regular appointments with a counsellor.  That sense of self-repair and self-love continues in the second and standout track, Slide, in which Wareham reflects on the need to be open about what he wants and the damage that can be done by keeping things bottled up.  The superb guitar solo sounds like a primal release of energy and emotion allowing a damaged man to take steps towards a better future.  The closing track, I Can’t Wait allows for one further reflection on past mistakes and behaviours, but ends with a final determination not to let those ghosts keep him a prisoner.  The jumping, bubbly mood of the backing reflects a real seize the day urgency.
The third track in this session is a cover of That’s What You Always Say by The Dream Syndicate, another paean to the problems of failing to communicate. Luna’s version lacks the teetering insanity of the original but they take it at a more appealing tempo and come very close to making it their own.  It’s certainly an inspired choice when considering the vibe of the session as a whole.

Video courtesy of Vibracobra23ennui and it covers the songs as they were broadcast on Peel’s show on 24 April 1992 and I’ve covered them in the order that they were broadcast on that video.  The session was repeated on this 13/6/92 show and was broadcast in the following order:
I Can’t Wait
Slide
That’s What You Always Say
Crazy People