LUNAR CHATEAU
Beyond the Reach of Dreams (Musea Records)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Somewhere between the sound of the Moody Blues and Emerson Lake and Palmer lies the sound of Lunar Chateau, a trio composed of the brothers Selukovich from Wisconsin. Their lead singer, Novak, sounds remarkably like Justin Hayward and their approach to lyrics is also thoughtfully spiritual, similar to the Moodies. The band though is just keyboards, bass and drums like ELP was. The connection to ELP is even stronger because Bruce Pilato is manager to both groups. Novak's voice has a nice sound but Chateau is not afraid to make instrumentals of stunning depth and complexity. Their sound is classic art rock, verging on fusion, mostly due to the intricate drumming of Milo Sekulovich over the bass work of Brother Paul, all supporting Novak's synthesizers and piano.

Formed in 1992, their first album was released in 1994. Simply titled Lunar Chateau, it gathered more success in Europe than here. It's been a full seven years and this, their second release, shows more sophistication and a lighter touch on lyrics.

The album opens with the majestic "Olympus Mons," an instrumental named after the enormous volcano on Mars. My favorite is the dark and mysterious title track, especially the opening part which features an unnamed singer with a voice that sounds not unlike that of Annie Haslam. The album ends with "Zeta Reticuli," named after a star system located 37 light-years from Earth and which explores the mysteries of the UFO's that seem to show up with regularity in our various histories. Milo drives Zeta forward with excellent but not overpowering drumming.

It's great to hear pure Art Rock done this well. Though their sound is not as modern as say, Moby, to their credit their music is not a studio artifact. They are the real thing.

(This album is available for purchase at www.amazon.com.)

© 2001 - Rusty Pipes