When Dead Can Dance, the seminal world-music ensemble founded by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, announced its breakup early this year, longtime fans mourned the loss of one of the most unique and talented partnerships of the century.

While Gerrard already had two solo releases -- "The Mirror Pool" and "Duality" (and has a third, the soundtrack to the new Michael Mann film, "The Insider," due out at the end of this month) -- under her belt by the time of the split, Perry releases his first solo effort this week. Entitled "The Eye of the Hunter," the album is a collection of material Perry has written over the years, and marks something of a departure from the duo's more ethnic sound.

Perry has structured "Hunter" around acoustic guitar and his own sentimental baritone. There is a lulling quality to these songs, which are often ethereal in tone even as they explore visceral subjects, like the narrative in "Medusa." On "Arcangel," Perry explores society's treatment of children in an age when youth are both lauded as our future and demonized for being angry and violent.

In many ways "Hunter" resembles an American folk album despite the fact that its composer is Irish-born. The songs are textured with strings and occasional slide guitar, as with the elegiac "Death Will Be My Bride." Dead Can Dance fans will savor the occasional gothic undertones on the album, even as fans of mellow music will be able to appreciate Perry's gorgeous song structures.

"Eye of the Hunter" is a major accomplishment for Perry, an album full of grace and beauty which allows him to shine as a solo artist for the first time. And from the sound of it, he's just getting warmed up.

This article was originally published in the Marin Scope Newspapers.