Luna formed in New York City back in 1992....like, when people were still listening to Grunge. And over the course of five studio LPs and last year's stellar live disc, the band have earned a place for themselves among the greats. They've perfected the art of melodic guitar pop, consistently topping the college radio charts, and giving devoted Luna pundits cause to celebrate with each new release.

But why Romantica? "I was riding the subway, and there was an ad for a Latin radio station that claimed to play Musica Romantica y Moderna," says frontman Dean Wareham. "I liked that, and it seemed to fit thematically with the record." Agreed. Romantica is a collection of 12 songs, valiantly exploring the finer points of stars and Asian food, astronauts and black champagne, Swedish fish, disco lights, the sandman, and (above all) love. These are Luna songs through and through--whether they're fuzzed-out and groovy (Black Postcards), sweetly sinister (1995), or a sweeping, sliding, near-country rollick (Rememories). And yeah, Dean still delivers those goose-bump inducing, epic-pop numbers that make you wanna cry (see: Lovedust, and Renee Is Crying). Wareham is probably the only guy in rock capable of conveying loss and longing through lyrics about Singapore Noodles.

Romantica was produced by Luna and dB's stalwart Gene Holder at Jolly Roger Recording in Hoboken, NJ. It was mixed by the infamous Dave Fridmann (see: Mogwai, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, etc) at his own Tarbox Road Studio in upstate New York (a bit of history: Fridmann recorded some demos for Luna's stunning debut album, Lunapark, back in 1991, shortly after Dean quit Galaxie 500).

Dave Fridmann's sonic experimentation is the perfect compliment to Luna's signature surrealist pop. Sure, Sean Eden and Dean still duke it out amicably with whirling guitar parts. And of course the latter's songwriting is still impeccable. But filtered through Fridmann