Luna's second album drops the superfluous superscript (added to the band name on their first album for contractual reasons) and adds a second guitarist,
Sean Eden. New producer
Victor Van Vugt, who had previously done good work with
Redd Kross and
Kirsty MacColl, among others, strips away the reverb-happy haze that
Fred Maher had coated 1992's
Lunapark with, bringing
Dean Wareham's vocals to the fore while (rather unfortunately) de-emphasizing
Justin Harwood's bass and
Stanley Demeski's drums. This makes
Bewitched sound less unique than
Lunapark, but happily,
Wareham's songwriting is significantly sharper on this outing, with more direct lyrics and more memorable melodies. The witty breakup song
"California (All the Way)" opens the album on a high point, and that quality level is maintained throughout the album. The addition of
Eden does a lot to open up
Luna's arrangements, since
Wareham is an extremely distinctive guitarist who tends to get locked in the same sounds and patterns. Having a foil to play off of enlivens
Wareham's playing, and instrumental passages like the extended codas of
"Friendly Advice" and
"Sleeping Pill" are much more interesting than similar bits on
Lunapark. ~ Stewart Mason
