Lunatic Soul - 2025 - The World Under Unsun

(89:00; InsideOut Music)






















Given this is the eighth studio album from Riverside vocalist and bassist Mariusz Duda it would be completely unfair to think of this as a side project, but instead we should say it as an outlet for his material which he does not believe fits with that group. Sometimes he performs as Lunatic Soul completely solo, sometimes it becomes more of a band and this time around he provides vocals, basses, piccolo basses, acoustic guitars, piano, keyboards, percussion and programming while drummer Wawrzyniec Drumowicz has returned with the only others involved being saxophonist Marcin Odyniec and Mateusz Owczarek who provides soundscapes.

This is his first ever double CD, and lyrically is the final instalment in “The Circle of Life and Death” cycle with this chapter taking place after 2017’s ‘Fractured’ and before 2014’s ‘Walking on a Flashlight Beam’. The complete story tells the tale of a nameless protagonist trapped in a loop, continuously traveling between life and death. The issue with one person doing all the work is that it can be difficult to really hear the flaws which would be picked up if there was a band at play, and one of the real issues here is the amount of programming, all of which should have been replaced by real drums. There are also songs where this becomes electronic ambient background and there is little real cut through, but then we get a number like “Good Memories Don't Want to Die” which is one of the most beautiful songs one is ever likely to come across where the orchestration, strings and vocals turn into something very special indeed.

This is the first Lunatic Soul album I have heard in many years, and while it is very pleasant it is not something to which I will often return as there is a real danger of a listener losing touch with much of it, only being brought back when we get another of the standouts. I have been playing this album a great deal as I was sure I was at fault with my listening, but I see the reviews have been incredibly varied and it certainly comes down to personal taste. Not for me, but if you like very polished prog which at times can be quite ambient and electronic then this may well be for you.       

Kev Rowland, January 2026

Links:
https://lunaticsoul.com/
https://www.insideoutmusic.com/

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