When Wisconsin's Sekulovich brothers — Paul, Novak and Milo — became the first U.S. artists signed to the giant French prog-rock label Musea in 1994, they were about as far removed from the American mainstream as they could get without actually going to France. Their 1994 self-titled debut shuffled elements from Yes, Asia, the Alan Parsons Project and Emerson, Lake & Palmer into a modern-day, guitar-free hybrid that had a difficult time finding an audience in the States. Perhaps that explains the trio's greater success in Europe, particularly in Poland, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece.
The half-dozen songs on Beyond the Reach of Dreams, Lunar Chateau's second release, are evenly split between instrumental and vocal tracks, and they flow out of your speakers as smoothly as the band's name rolls off of your tongue. Gentle-voiced keyboard player Novak handles singing duties this time, instead of bassist Paul (who sang lead on the first album), resulting in songs with a bit deeper resonance – primarily because of Novak's vocal style. Milo's presence on the drums is strongly felt throughout the disc, as well, but it's not intrusive. If anything, Lunar Chateau take a more practical approach to their music on Beyond the Reach of Dreams than they did on the debut by incorporating a few shorter songs and, in the case of the almost-poppy "Far From Home," less ethereal lyrics.
But it is Novak's stunning and majestic keyboards that dominate this release, particularly on "Zeta Reticuli," the 11-minute epic that closes the album. Elsewhere, the band incorporates male and female chants and cosmic quiet moments – all without one guitar solo. At its core, Beyond the Reach of Dreams plays like a synthesized dream from which you'll never want to wake.
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