The Tucson, AZ-based
Resonars are essentially a talented one-man band by the name of Matt Rendon, even though three other members -- vocalist John Rendon, bassist Michael "Mick" Huxley, and drummer Keith Lopez -- of the supposed four-piece combo are listed on the CD credits. Don't look to the liner notes to reveal any clues about the band, however, as they're penned by Rendon posing as producer Alfie McNabb. (Scott Moody, owner of Star Time Records, thought it would be funny to have an Andrew Loog Oldham/Kit Lambert-type character named Alfie McNabb posing as his A&R guy and house producer, and so now McNabb's name appears on all of his label's releases.) In the notes, McNabb claims that
Resonars are on "a mission to play vibrant, exciting music that can shake the world and still make the girls smile," which is as good a reason to go on a mission as any. Rendon had originally begun work on
Lunar Kit in 2000, after the Get Hip release of 1999's
Bright and Dark, but he eventually retired the group's moniker and moved to Seattle. There he joined the Vultures, playing drums for them under the name Mickey Finch. In fact, only one track on this album -- "Everything You Said" -- was recorded after he returned to Tucson in early 2001. As before, Rendon played all of the instruments and sang all the vocals, four-tracking himself at his Coma Cave home studio. Rendon also remixed two psych garage tracks -- "Why Does It Have to Be So Hard?" and "A Slice of Today," which had appeared on a CD that accompanied the last issue of a Philadelphia-based fanzine, The Bob, in the fall of 2001. ("A Slice of Today," incidentally, appeared as an unlisted bonus track on that particular CD.) "Under Garden" sounds like it may have been inspired by
the Hollies circa
Butterfly. Another
Hollies-inspired track, the harmony-drenched "She's in Love With Her," shows up midway, along with its flip side of the Star Time single from 2000, the freakbeat romp "Floor Lamp Eyes," while an even older track, "Funny Old World," features a great freakout on the drums. The jangle-riffic title track, a
Byrds-ian folk-rock "Lunar Kit," is positively swimming in echo and highlighted by early
Who-style drumming, towering multi-tracked harmonies, and a twangy guitar. "Everything You Said" sounds inspired by Fontana-era Manfred Mann or even
Outrageous Cherry. The album ends on a odd note, with Rendon trying his hand -- and succeeding -- at a boogie tune, "Little Spoiled Baby." ~ Bryan Thomas