Moonstruck Melodies

Okay, I admit it. Shameful as it is, I must confess that I listen to Boston's "Soft Album Rock" station, 92.9 WBOS.

It wasn't always this way-when I first arrived at Harvard, I was in a state of alternative withdrawal. Having listened to Los Angeles' excellent KROQ for several years. I was dismayed to find that while WHRB would come in over my phone, WFNX just wouldn't come in on my radio. I needed my Peter Gabriel, my Pearl Jam, my R.E.M.! Flipping aimlessly through station after station, from WBUR's BBC coverage to Kiss 108's irritating dance mixes, I eventually found what I was looking for--on WBOS, the station that the Unofficial Guide characterizes as "Fleetwood Mac and the Doobies."

True, they play the older groups too, but surprisingly enough, WBOS plays some great music, including the "softer" hits of alternative groups like R.E.M. and Pearl Jam. Lowen and Navarro is just of the "adult" groups that WBOS has made their other staple, and with Broken Moon, this guitar-playing duo proves that, at least in this case, "soft album rock" is not a synonym for elevator music.

Broken Moon may not be your typical college rock album, but, with the recent success of the similar-sounding, acoustic-influenced Crash Test Dummies, it isn't surprising that Lowen and Navarro have reportedly been heard on alternative stations as well. The album features the accomplished guitar-playing and song-writing of Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro, who each play a myriad of instruments to accompany their well-harmonized singing. Their well-matched voices blend perfectly; Lowen's is slightly higher and clearer, while Navarro's is lower and reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot. Picking them out is often difficult, however--the two switch back and forth effortlessly from melody to harmony throughout the album, and this is partly what makes their combined sound so appealing.

"All is Quiet," Broken Moon's opening track, displays the elements that make L&N work so well together, and benefits from their earthy, folk-rock style. One of the album's strengths is its intelligent lyrics; with words like "We live our lives in the eye of a hurricane/We cast our fates on seas of indifference" the duo crafts unique and compelling images, despite dealing with the oh-so-common theme of the difficulties of love. The song's underlying guitar line is simple and uncluttered without being simplistic, and fits perfectly with the cello playing of Richard Dodd, which is also featured on "Just To See You."

The album's textured sound, which includes electric guitars, mandolin and violin along with the cello, helps the instrumentals of Broken Moon to be both complex and interesting without overpowering or drawing attention away from the singers. The catchy choruses and melody lines that characterize many of the songs, especially "Constant As The Night" and "I'll Set You Free," which features Susanna Hoffs (recently wedded singer of the Bangles) on back-up vocals, jeep the focus squarely on Lowen and Navarro. The imagery is masterful here as well; the rhyming lines, such as "I remember words that fell/Like coins into a wishing well" are cute, and original enough to keep the listener's interest.

However, the engaging, upbeat character of Broken Moon does have one drawback--the music is overwhelmingly happy, and even the album's sad songs don't manage to convey much heartbreak. Every one of Broken Moon's songs is about relationships, but the "break-up" songs somehow seem more wistful than hurt. Granted, this is a relatively minor complaint--if the sentiment is unchanging, at least, unlike many "slow songs," every other word is not "love" or "baby."

Thus, Broken Moon proves that a WBOS favorite need not be boring or by groups of the '70s. With WBOS's practice of playing music "completely uncut, as the artist intended," Lowen and Navarro, as well as groups ranging from The Rolling Stones to the Police can be enjoyed in full, and while suffering through Van Morrison's "Moondance" from the millionth time may be a pain, it's well worth it. You're an adult now--you can listen to adult music, and Lowen and Navarro is not a bad start.