Japanese guitar duo, Suishou No Fune unleash a personal two-disc collection of songs memorializing their cat Chibi who passed away last year after suffering an illness. A blue-filter and gauze and were not used solely to create effect for the photographs and layout of the album; the entire recording comes to the listener in a haze through a blue-filter and gauze. This is a lengthy collection to take in one sitting, but one that is extremely rewarding. Suishou No Fune have made an album that is starkly-serious; a mind-altering, psych-blues album dealing with the themes of death and sorrow. A contemplative soundtrack to grief that is far more reserved in terms of pure sonic power than their previous releases. Prayer for Chibi opts for a sparser, more subtle path, allowing each string and bent-note to ring out as though gravity had lost its hold setting the music free to float in slow-motion amongst the haunting voices. The album is almost ballad-like throughout with the opening track on the second disc as the only notable exception. This more restrained sound is the perfect aesthetic choice for handling these solemn songs of remembrance; a poetry focusing on life and death and the hope of spiritual resurrection. Each track finds one searching in nature, the sky, and in the wind for traces of proof that those who have left us are still with us in some way. This is yet another example of what makes Pirako and Kageo the amazing artists that they are. A quintessential album. Highly recommended! 9/10 -- Todd Brooks (8 April, 2008)