Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda returns with another atmospheric journey through his Lunatic Soul project, the final instalment in his ‘circle of life and death’ trilogy.
Mariusz Duda is one of the most prolific and creative forces on the contemporary progressive rock scene through his work with Riverside and his alter ego Lunatic Soul. The latter holds a significant place in Duda’s life because, as he says, “Lunatic Soul, musically and conceptually, is an equally important musical world, if not more important because here I can do anything.”
Similar to previous Lunatic Soul releases, The World Under Unsun is atmospheric and rich in imagination. The album closes the trilogy that began with 2014’s Walking on a Flashlight Beam and continued with 2017’s Fractured, telling the tale of a nameless protagonist trapped in a loop between life and death.
Duda possesses an expressive voice that suits the music perfectly, alongside an enviable ability to play multiple instruments and craft diverse, memorable melodies. Tracks like ‘The New End’, which closes the album, and the slightly maudlin ‘Good Memories Don’t Want To Die’ are hauntingly beautiful. Lunatic Soul could almost be described as the “softer side” of Riverside, the playing is less rock-oriented, keys are more upfront, and electric guitar takes a back seat.
But this doesn’t mean the album is quietly reflective throughout. It’s an eclectic mix of ethereal, swirling rhythms occasionally drawn from his day job. ‘Monsters’ sounds like Riverside circa their Wasteland album, while ‘Hands Made Of Lead’ uses sax in a similar vein to Van der Graaf Generator. The powerful ‘Self In Distorted Glass’ could fit onto an album of psychedelic folk music.
The World Under Unsun is intentionally different from Duda’s work fronting Riverside. Like most successful bands, Riverside’s fanbase has expectations of what they want the band to sound like, whereas Duda operates under no such constraints with Lunatic Soul. The music often leans towards darker, more ambient sounds and themes rather than being rock-oriented, and differs in scale from previous Lunatic Soul album Through Shaded Woods.
Unsun is an album that can be enjoyed without knowing anything about Riverside, it’s its own entity and stands up on its own merits. With Riverside temporarily off the road, might Duda be tempted to tour as Lunatic Soul? It would be a very interesting gig if he did.
