BARREN DREAM

Mr. Sirius is multi-instrumentalist Kazuhiro Miyatake. Actually, it's the name of his solo musical project. His main partner in crime is Pageant vocalist/keyboardist Hiroko Nagai (a.k.a. Lisa Ohki). Her clear-toned yet powerful voice is perfect for this pastoral, dreamy take on symphonic prog.

In tried-and-true fashion for 80's Japanese prog, lush pillows of orchestrated keys form the musical bed for this album. To compare this to Renaissance would be a bit glib, but not entirely inaccurate. Miyatake's classical guitarwork is a devastatingly lovely component of the band's overall sound, as is his lilting flute work throughout. The piano playing (by Nagai on "Intermezzo" and Miyatake elsewhere) is likewise quite a nice touch.

It's not all willow branches and buttercups, though. There are touches of fiery fusion, as on "Sweet Revenge" and the climax of "Eternal Jealousy", the latter featuring Black Page guitarist Raven Ohtani.