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REVIEWS of the first Cigarbox Planetarium record:

LINKS to reviews & articles:

Issue #28, Feb-June, 2003

This Washington, D.C. instrumental duo (Deanna Pineda on organ and Casio; Andy Charneco on guitar and drumbox) plays original music that draws on spaghetti western soundtracks, Joe Meek, the lounge scene, and Laika & the Cosmonauts for inspiration.

Their compositions are carefully constructed -- alternately possessing a dreamy/moody quality and an angular dissonance. Although Pineda occasionally takes a turn at soloing, her keyboards more often provide a solid foundation for Charneco's expressive and fluid guitar work, which tastefully employs his whammy bar without resorting to grandstanding.

With intriguing titles like, "Night! Oh, the Sad..." "At Sun Two Dogs," and "The Celestial Pincushion," Cigarbox Planetarium's eponymous debut continues the lineage of their influences and is likely to please fans of all those genres. - Michael Greenberg

- PopMatters . December 3, 2003

- Splendid Ezine . October 9, 2003

- Stylus Magazine . February/March 2003

- Richmond.com . January 2003

- In Music We Trust . Issue 56, January 2003

- babysue® . December 2002

- All Music Guide

March 21-27, 2003

In an alternate universe in which Pee-wee Herman is Hugh Hefner, this Casio-driven 15-tracker is the soundtrack for "Pee-wee's Playhouse After Dark." For those who think "Mecca-lecca-hi-mecca-heinie-ho" needed more heinie. - Dave Nuttycombe

February/March 2003

Cigarbox Planetarium is a Washington, DC instrumental duo that were simply tired of the typical band experiences and wanted to do something completely different. Apparently they wanted to be the B-52’s of lounge music! What does it sound like? It’s Esquivel spaceage bachelor pad, it’s tiki lounge, it’s bossanova, it’s hockey arena organ, it’s House of Frightenstein, all at the same time, but it works. Deanna Pineda and Andy Charneco take their music seriously, but not too seriously. Their delectable blend of Hammond organ, Casio keyboard and Fender Jazzmaster guitar will have you reaching for the gin and vermouth in no time.
(Oh! Tonito, www.ohtonito.com) – Broose Tulloch

January 10, 2003

The mid-'90s lounge-music revival has all but gone away. However, from the smoldering embers of the mini-craze a few sparks have stayed alive. One is Cigarbox Planetarium, the DC-based duo of organist Deanna Pineda and guitarist Andy Charneco. The 15 instrumentals on their debut sport cheeky titles and are propelled by the rhythms of a Casio and an electronic drum box. One could draw the wrong conclusion from such data. While the track listing includes such numbers as "I Clone Me," "Zombiessence," and "Bowler Hat's Nightmare," their actual sonic life is quite a bit more resonant. They draw from the world of spy movies and suburban bossa nova parties but are not limited to those sources. One of the set's strengths is its diversity. From "Homicide Kills" and its echoes of "Get Smart" to the near melancholy of "Listing Attic," the pair understand the dynamics of a well-paced album experience. Eschewing production flourish, they let the well-honed arrangements speak for themselves. Charneco's guitar tone is from the cleanly articulated, light vibrato world of surf music (they dedicated the CD to Finland's Laika & the Cosmonauts, one of the finest purveyors of contemporary surf-inspired instrumentals). The lounge revival may be dead in the water, but Cigarbox Planetarium are bobbing about in the pool nicely. – David Greenberger

January 15, 2003

Hailing from our nation’s capital, the Cigarbox Planetarium reinvents the bubbles in the wine of Lawrence Welk, as few would dare, let alone pull off with such dazzling grace. The group lovingly explores the depths of all that can be considered lounge music without falling into the trap of its deplorable cutesy excesses. The clean-picked, distortion-free guitar mastery of Andy Charneco takes center stage on the group’s debut recording. Supported by the nimble keyboard styling of Deanna Pineda and drum machine, Andy’s guitar is a pleasure to behold as he gives the songs their shape and melodic depth. The tunes are crafted in the vein once mined by England's late great Shadows with nods to Fellini's seminal soundtrack composer, Nino Rota, and the Little Rascals’ criminally neglected composer, Leroy Shield.

There is a devious wit to all these compositions that invoke unabashed joviality free of irony. The Cigarbox Planetarium are the perfect complement to all your future cocktail parties and that, my friends, is a trick that is mighty hard to pull off. This is one thoroughly enjoyable recording. – Chris Bopst

Issue Fifty-Six / January 2003

Cigarbox Planetarium is an instrumental lounge-pop record. From the Casio and Organ-created atmosphere through the rain drop guitars and back beat of the drum box, Cigarbox have you pondering the deeper questions in life while you absorb yourself in their thinking sounds. From the dreamy to the bright-eyed, the creative pop concoctions here are mesmerizing, as you often find yourself sitting on the couch stoned by their sounds. I’ll give it a B-. – Alex Steininger

December 2002

Pleasantly simple. Cigarbox Planetarium is the duo of Andy Charneco and Deanna Pineda. Charneco plays guitar and drumbox, Pineda plays organ and casio. And…that’s it. No guest artists. No elaborate overdubs. No thick layering of instruments. No elaborate mixes. This duo shows great restraint in their approach to music…and the concept works marvelously. These simple drum machine driven tunes are subtle and sparse. The keyboards are matter-of-fact…and the guitar playing is strangely fluid and hypnotic. We enjoyed the “lounge movement” that happened a few years back and were disappointed when it seem to drizzle out into nowhere. These two folks don’t seem to be trying to reignite or reinvent the movement. Instead, they are just producing puzzling and inventive modern mood music. We are almost always impressed when people don’t try too hard. Charneco and Pineda don’t have to. Their music speaks for itself. Well done. (Rating: 5++)

Peculiar name, peculiar music. It’s hard to tell if the duo is downright serious about its bossa nova jams or just having fun with what they have to work with (a keyboard, guitar, drum machine and other odd items). Titles such as “Frankenstein on the Beach” and “Trouble is My Beeswax” should hint at the latter and pay homage to their influence from surf rock. With preset rhythms (sometimes not too far off from Wesley Willis), the Washington, D.C. band bestows twangy vibrations from a vintage Fender Jazzmaster guitar, Hammond organ and Casio keyboard, producing mood music for those who don't take mood music too seriously. It does in fact revive classic bossa nova and lounge but with knowing winks and quirks, which hopefully won't have Stan Getz or Henry Mancini rolling in their graves. If anything, Cigarbox Planetarium deserves points just having the nerve to record something like this. — Kenyon Hopkin