My record collection
#141: Luna - A Place of Greater Safety

In 2005 Luna split up. That’s fine, bands split up all the time, and it was OK because Dean & Britta kept making music, and so did Sean (with Elk City, and Gramercy Arms and Night People and CFR), and I’m sure Lee kept busy too. So, bands probably should split up.

Luna - A Place of Greater Safety

The reasons Dean gave when they split up were all pretty much valid.

1. Rock and Roll is killing my life.
2. The Universe is Expanding.
3. There are too many bands out there, travelling around, singing their songs etc.
4. Too much time spent in 15-passenger vans. According to 20/20, these things flip over.
5. Too many hands to shake, that means germs.
6. Too many dinners at Wendy's.
7. People are dying in Iraq.
8. This is what bands do (with a few exceptions, like R.E.M. and Metallica, and the Rolling Stones). Those bands, however, are multibillion dollar corporations. You don’t break that up unless the government forces you to.
9. Hotel Electravision.
10. Time to Quit.

Dean Wareham - fuzzywuzzy.com (5th October 2004)

Now, I tend to be of the opinion that when a band splits up, for good reasons, they should probably stay split up, and if there were good reasons to split up the reasons to get back together tend not to be as good (and are normally financial, which isn’t a good reason at all - although it may be a valid one!) But these days bands get back together all the time, maybe they should just not split up? The word hiatus can be quite a useful one.

In April 2015 Luna reunited. I love Luna so I was OK with that, deep down I was probably a little sad that they needed to do this but… Luna were playing gigs again and they were (and are) such a good live band that it was OK.

In May 2017 Luna announced a new album… but not a real album, an album of cover versions. Luna do great covers so, maybe that was OK too - although I was less sure about that being a good thing (and will probably go into that more when A Sentimental Education turns up in this series).

As well as the album there was to be an EP of instrumental tracks. Up until that point the occasional Luna instrumental was a b-side. Maybe the EP was like a b-side to the album? Although cover versions tend to be b-sides too?

As you can tell while I was happy that Luna were once again a going concern, I did have reservations - particularly with regard to these releases.

The album and EP were released (via Pledgemusic - shortly before its implosion) in September 2017.

I almost never listen to A Place of Greater Safety - it’s OK I guess but… it feels like a record full of soundtrack cues (a couple of which are), or unfinished songs - they’re fine but Luna’s discography could easily have lived without it - and the same goes for the covers album. And in my heart I think I would have preferred another Dean & Britta album, and that long-promised-but-as-yet-undelivered Sean Eden solo album.

I think its fine that Luna play gigs still. They seem to get on well, and they are as musically tight as a drum so… no reason not to. Maybe they should have thought about that in 2004/2005 and instead of splitting just had a few years off.

I always feel a bit of a traitor when I say anything negative about these bands and artists, because I do love them so much (as bands and as people) and criticism seems just wrong. So, Dean, Sean, Lee, Britta - I’m sorry!

Having said all that I do rather love a 10” - so maybe I’ll forgive them!

• Catalogue Number: AHFOW 12/060
• Artist: Luna
• Title: A Place of Greater Safety
• Format: 10”
• Bought via Pledgemusic with A Sentimental Education and some other gear!
• Buy ‘A Place of Greater Safety’ on Bandcamp