Opener ‘Time Limit’ is great, but my favourite piece is probably the fantastic ‘Midnight Rendezvous.’ Not every song is as distinctive as some of those mentioned, and at times the album seems ‘safe’ and I found myself wondering what Casiopea would sound like if they approached some of the pieces in a less composed manner. It’s got a nice amount of punch from the bursts of lockstep playing or up-tempo numbers like ‘Black Joke’ or ‘Space Road’ and contrasts this with cruising moments, even including a nice ballad of sorts, in ‘Tears of the Stars’ where Noro brings out the acoustic guitar. I do feel like this is a good album rather than an essential release. ‘Swallow’ for instance has some great solos from both players, and in fact, I’m reminded of Al Di Meola at times. But that’s not a weakness, the accessibility and melody are nice features, and it’s also not to say there are no solos at all. Their first album includes a horn section on several songs, and even strings at times, but the chief focus is on the guitar of leader Issei Noro and the keys of Minoru Mukaiya, both which spend as much time establishing texture, working on riffs and melody as they do soloing or digging into anything tangled. Casiopea do fairly slick fusion that can get spacey but is mostly funk-influenced.

Casiopea album designer