Luna doesn’t let details slide on EP

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 20, 2004 | 8:36 a.m.

Depending on your point of view, EPs can either be expensive collector's items or great sources of rare material.

Personally, I come down in the latter category. I've learned over the years that some of my favorite bands' best tracks are of the non-album variety, and can be found only on EPs.

For those unaware, "EP" stands for "extended play," a term primarily used in the days of vinyl. EPs were considered longer alternatives to 7-inch singles (also known as 45s).

Of course, in today's music world, a disc clocking in under 30 minutes isn't considered "extended" by anyone's definition, when CDs regularly run 60-80 minutes in length.

But there's something to be said for the EP's shorter duration. Luna's 1993 "Slide" EP, for example, makes for an engaging 27-minute musical journey that finishes before becoming repetitive.

Luna's origins date to the early 1990s, when seminal indie shoegazing outfit Galaxie 500 split up. New Zealand transplant Dean Wareham -- singer and guitarist for that trio -- soon recruited a few buddies and formed the New York City-based Luna.

Released one year after the band's debut album, "Lunapark," "Slide" actually works well as an introduction to Luna. The disc features three original songs and three covers, with five of the six tracks exclusive to the EP.

The title track, a single off "Lunapark," is one of the band's classic cuts. Wareham's sense of irony is immediately detectable, with the distinctly un-P.C. yet hilarious opening line, "You can never give the finger to the blind."

The other two originals, a quiet demo version of "Hey Sister" and the noisy "Rollercoaster" show off two distinct sides of the indie rockers, who are often compared to the Velvet Underground and Television.

But it's the covers that truly make "Slide" worth tracking down. Presented consecutively, Beat Happening's "Indian Summer," the Velvet Underground's "Ride Into the Sun" and the Dream Syndicate's "That's What You Always Say" receive the full Luna treatment -- hypnotic rhythms, fuzzy guitars and Wareham's whiny vocals topping it all off.

In the years since, Luna has continued to tour and record, though only Wareham remains from the original lineup. The band is still fond of covers -- the Rolling Stones' "Waiting on a Friend" and Guns 'N Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" can be found on recent efforts -- a trend first heard on its first, and best, EP.

Artist: Luna.

Title: "Slide."

Year of release: 1993 (Elektra Records).

Tracklisting: "Slide," "Indian Summer," "Ride Into the Sun," "That's What You Always Say." "Hey Sister" (demo version), "Rollercoaster."