To the Moon

With their second album, Monster Movie principals Sean Hewson and Christian Savill — the latter formerly of shoegazer pioneers Slowdive — continue to build on the lush and darkly atmospheric sound of their 2002 debut, Last Night Something Happened. Bolstered by artful guitar distortion, To the Moon's contagious opening number, "Sweet Lemonade," is as glorious as it is deceiving. Not that the tracks that follow it aren't as good, but they're in a completely different league sonically. Evoking strains of New Order (on "Dream About You"), Trash Can Sinatras (on "Colder Days"), and — not surprisingly — Slowdive (on "Don't Know Why"), there's little to complain about, except perhaps the brash instrumental "Good Grief." In a curious move, Hewson and Savill end up burying the set's finest tune, "Memento," which might be the finest Britpop nugget to surface since that movement died away. But a few exceptions aside, To the Moon is long on the somber, dreamy pop (like "Beautiful Arctic Star" and the swooning "From a Distance") that once made Savill a scene star. ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi