Luna Tart has been singing for a long time. She was in cabarets before your mother was born. She picks up her little ukulele and sings very sad songs.

"Though many commendable records have come out of the two Ninth Ward Pickin' Parlor incarnations, West has never produced a project quite as spectacular as Luna Tart Died by Austin singer/songwriter Laura Freeman. It isn't just a collection of touchy-feely coffeehouse originals, but rather a stunning theatrical manifesto chronicling the life of Luna Tart, a self absorbed woman who's infamous but obsessed with fame to the point of being delusional. She joins the circus, hooks up with a sugar daddy, blows his moolah, cheats on him, and has plenty of dark, dour moments in between.In short, Freeman's performance is nothing less than jaw-dropping - perfect timing, keen humor, and seemingly infinite vocal inflections to reflect her character's myriad mood swings and personality disorders. She can be the sweet, innocent warbler one moment and a brassy, obnoxious loudmouth the next. She's the quintessential trauma queen, even on her deathbed she contemplates the optimal cause of death: "I did consider being eaten by a tiger/Or being mauled by a bear/ But unfortunately that might muss my hair." Meanwhile, West surrounds his starlet with sophisticated arrangements featuring splattery trombones, old world accordions, and jazzy nightclub pianos. At one point Freeman suggested that a particular arrangement needed a toy piano, which, surprisingly, he wholeheartedly endorsed. Interestingly, after this recording was released, Freeman and a pal wrote a play, Luna Tart Died of a Broken Heart, which was easy, due to the highly visual and interpretative nature of the music. Since then the play has been performed around Austin and there are hopes of it venturing beyond Texas' capital city."
-- Dan Willging - Dirty Linen Folk and World Music #142 (Jul, 2009)