**1/2 MR. JEALOUSY: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

(BMG Classics)

Like a Luna CD, the soundtrack to the indie film Mr. Jealousy (directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra) begins and ends with the by now familiar sound of singer Dean Wareham's unsteady deadpan floating amid the austere jangle of Velvetsy guitars. And it's Luna's knowing romanticism, the urbane sensibility of their poised pop, that sets the tone for the album. But between the opening cut -- Luna's fine cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," which finds Wareham comfortably slipping into the role of one of those tragic villains you hate to love -- and the hummably bleak new Luna tune that closes the disc ("Hello Little One"), we're treated to a little classic R&B from Irma Thomas ("It's Raining"), a couple of French-pop gems (Parisian indie rockers Autour de Lucie's "Ce que l'on tait" and Françoise Hardy doing "Je ne suis là pour personne"), Luna's "Chinatown," the Harry Chapin chestnut "Cat's in the Cradle," and some instrumental score material. All of which may leave you wanting to hear a little more of Wareham, an effect that Luna's last couple of full-lengths haven't really produced.

-- Matt Ashare