Best Of Luna [Remastered]

So, 'Luna'. Kind of twee Belle and Sebastian-type band I suspected. I was checking my indie anorak brother's CD collection when I spotted this. "Luna!" I scoffed, "More obscure irrelevant navel-gazing student pap." "Check it out before you judge it." he said. So I did. I borrowed it, then listened with half an ear the first couple of times I played it. Not blown away by it at all.

Then one day I was cleaning out the oven with Luna in the background and it suddenly struck me. This is good. Damn good. Some song was playing about someone who was 'blinded by lovedust' and saw 'a million, a billion, a trillion stars'. Such a glorious image to have in your head when you're doing trivial domestic chores.

This is what appeals to me now, the small, relatively unknown band who've been around for years, waiting to be discovered, with a back catalogue of big dreams. A 'Best Of' compilation that nobody here has got around to reviewing yet. It's like there's a general air of ambivalence. But there are 35 tracks here (counting the second disc, which is filled with covers) and at least three-quarters have concealed hooks, which lead you, unsuspecting, into the world of this band. It's a world that you kind of really didn't want to visit, but when you're there you end up walking around it with a smile on your face.

The second disc is a bit of treat, too. Cover versions rarely tend to work for me, I always think 'why not just listen to the original'? But each track here is performed with affection, not just a static attempt to reproduce what we've already heard. 'No Regrets' is actually a cover of a cover, and it still manages to sound fresh.

These days, with music being so accesible, it's easy to bypass bands like Luna. I almost did. But then they brought a million, billion, trillion stars into my life and I'm here to tell you about it.