Tales or Mr Rhee

The Whispering of the World, the sixth studio album from Tiger Moth Tales, is a change of direction for Pete Jones. Instead of complex song structures and the prog instrumentation and soundscapes, the new album is more song based and features Jones on grand piano and vocals, accompanied by the minimalistic beauty of a string quartet. The stripped back nature of the recording allows the songs to speak for themselves, with the strings both providing a warm backdrop and accentuating the lyrical themes.

When considering the finest releases of the Japanese symphonic rock scene, the first two albums by Mr. Sirius come to mind immediately, not only for their apparent absence of any immediately obvious influences, but also because of the crafty compositions, superb musicianship, tight arrangements, and outstanding vocals of Hiroko Nagai. Those albums are Barren Dream (1987) and Dirge (1990). The synergy of the five musicians is evidenced throughout these seven tracks: it's not clear if the the pieces were penned by Mr. Sirius himself or Mr. Sirius the band, but each of these is truly a group effort, a solid and powerful statement by five musicians sharing a common purpose. Their sound relies on gentle subtleties (acoustic guitars, flute) juxtaposed with moments of power (heavy symphonics, screaming guitar leads), often seemingly disconnected, evoking a different feeling from one moment to the next…