Luna singer/lead guitarist Dean Wareham says he's a cynical romantic. Not hard to conceive, listening to such lyrics as "Once we had dreams/ Now we have schemes." His romantic side, however, sweetens the bitter with wistful musings on life's incidentals, like Singapore noodles, the air turning creamy from candles, and smoking in bed. Oh, and medium-rare strip steak. Wareham orders it on nearly every tour stop. "When I cook it at home," he says, "it sets off the smoke detector." He admitted to shaking his steak addiction by ordering lobster tacos (charmingly pronouncing the latter word tack-ohs).

Wareham's whimsical, detailed-oriented approach can be heard in Luna's sound. Understated and melodic — a kinder, gentler Velvet Underground — Luna is not big on hype and image. Wareham puts more emphasis on wordplay, mellifluous rhythms, delicate keyboards and guitar riffs that range from the pretty to pretty noisy.

Since Luna formed in 1991, the band has grown but not strayed altogether from the music that had its beginnings in Wareham's erstwhile band, Galaxie 500. Whereas Galaxie 500's sound was minimal and slow, Luna has grown into a sophisticated act that creates hypnotic pop with lush arrangements, yet the music can still conjure the hollow after-effect of raindrops tapping a windowpane. This mastery comes to full fruition on Luna's sixth studio album, 2002's Romantica, produced by Gene Holder and guru du jour Mercury Rev bassist/Flaming Lips mixer Dave Fridmann, who helped accomplish what Wareham calls "texture and the concrete."

Likewise concrete and substantive is the mini-LP, Close Cover Before Striking. Released last October, the CD/DVD comes in an ingenious package that resembles a matchbook and includes videos of "Lovedust" and "1995" from Romantica. It makes more use of spaces and spacey-ness, with songs like "Astronaut" and "Drunken Whistler" showcasing guitars and keyboards with haunting effects and distortions. The EP also boasts a languid rendition of The Rolling Stones' "Waiting on a Friend.

Wareham sidenote No. 1: He's really into covers. Others include a Serge Gainsbourg/ Brigitte Bardot tune called "Bonnie and Clyde" that he sings with Laetitia Sadier of Sterolab (on 1995's Penthouse) and Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" (on 1999's Days of Our Nights).

Credit for the critical success and all-out loveliness of Romantica and Close Cover must also go to Wareham's latest batch of cohorts. The current Luna lineup has breathed new life into the band: actor-turned-guitarist Sean Eden; drummer Lee Wall, who replaced Stanley Demeski (formerly of The Feelies); Australian musician Lara Gray, who's worked with Ben Lee, plays strings, Mellotron and keyboard on tour; and Britta Phillips on bass. (Other Luna collaborators include Sterling Morrison of Velvet Underground and Television's Tom Verlaine.

Phillips, the band's latest addition, was the human force behind the cartoon character Jem on the TV show Jem and the Holgrams and played alongside Julia Roberts and Justine Bateman in the 1980s girl-rocker flick Satisfaction. Phillips lends a soft, Nico-esque vocal complement to Wareham's talky delivery. The two harmonize especially well on "Mermaid Eyes" a catchy duet on Romantica.

Wareham sidenote No. 2: He also appeared in a film with Bateman, making out with her in a 1997 indie comedy called Highball.

Critics have responded favorably to Luna's time-tested and modern sensibilities. Rolling Stone called Luna "the best band in the world that no-one has ever heard of," and Penthouse made the magazine's Top 150 albums of the 1990s list.

Music labels, on the other hand, have not been so kind. Elektra dropped the band a few weeks before the release of its 1999 CD Days of Our Nights. Jetset took on Luna for the recording of Romantica and Close Cover Before Striking. With Jetset, Wareham says, "It's good."

And of fickle music biz types: "I'm always amused when I hear someone say they've been signed to RCA for $2-million. It's bullshit. … There's definitely an upside of being dropped. It gets you out of a mountain of phony debt."

Only a cynical romantic can turn career disappointment into success and serendipity.

For more on Luna, visit fuzzywuzzy.com. Contact copy editor Julie Garisto at 813-248-8888, ext. 155, or julie@weeklyplanet.com.

This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2003.