Customer Reviews

Lunatic Soul

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mariusz Duda the lead vocal and bass player of the Polish Prog Band "Riverside" creates a laid back softer feel on his first solo project. The sound is excellent and has the dark mystic groove that is his staple, Lunatic Soul revolves in insights about death and how we face it. Most is quite good with good variety. Note that their is no electric guitar played on this record, great bass though. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys Riverside, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and the likes.

Lunatic Soul is a new outlet for vocalist/bassist Mariusz Duda to express himself and experiment with different sounds and songwriting systems. It differs vastly from Riverside, and rightly so. I have always believed that artists' solo projects should operate outside of the patterns of their respective bands, and in that aspect Lunatic Soul does not disappoint me.

Built around largely acoustic and psychedelic sounds, the album maintains a mellow flow, leading to plenty of instrumental breaks and making use of a wide array of instrumentation. The absence of electric guitars has given way to myriad synth textures, performed brilliantly by both Riverside keyboardist Michal Lapaj and the insanely versatile Maciej Szelenbaum, who is also credited as a songwriter on some of the tunes. Besides keyboards, he contributes piano, harmonica, and flute as well to broaden the width of the compositions, best noted on "The New Beginning," which stands out for his subdued flute arrangement alongside Duda's soft, fragile whisper-like singing.

Those familiar with Indukti know how diverse the drumming on their songs is. Wawrzyniec Dramowicz provides the ethnic percussion and tribal drum beats to great effect, deepening the essence of "Summerland" where Duda's vocal lines constantly shift from Porcupine Tree-like processed parts to clean, dark vocalizations. There is more -- the dramatic finale of the beautifully performed "Out on a Limb," where a female voice softy cries beneath the ubiquitous acoustic guitars transpires atmosphere matched only by those like Ulver.

For lack of a more apt comparison, parts of the album recall Opeth's Damnation, utilising a blend of Hammond organs, eerie percussion, and throbbing bass lines. This all culminates in a thick soundscape punctuated with dark themes and lyrics which revolve around the theme of death and afterlife. None of the tunes actually 'rock' in the sense of Riverside, but all of them are painstakingly composed, hardly containing Duda's restrained vocal outbursts on the title track. Though, on the whole, the album retains its dreamy feel and pace, best highlighted on the multi-textured "Adrift," complete with a pretty e-bow motif courtesy of Quidam guitarist Maciej Meller. The way the tune grows from minimal acoustic passages to a huge yet strangely soothing and beautiful soundworld proves that Duda is a masterful songwriter.

It would be a shame if this remained a one-off project.

Though I liked Lunatic Soul from the start, it took me many listens to really appreciate the kind of atmospheric album Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda has put together here. There is just so much going on that you can't possibly drink it all in the first time through.
Jazz guitarist Al DiMeola once issued a magnificent album most aptly entitled Soaring Through A Dream. Though the music on Lunatic Soul has no connection to DiMeola's style and musical vision, a comparison here wouldn't be a stretch because soaring through a dream is precisely the feeling you get when you kick back and listen to this!
To me, Duda's expressive voice is often eerily evocative of that of the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward and that makes it eminently suited to the introspection-inducing atmosphere established here. I like the entire album but I most enjoy Out On A Limb, the title cut, Adrift, and the powerful climax, The Final Truth.
The CD comes attractively packaged and includes a multi-fold booklet that contains pertinent album information and importantly, the lyrics. If you are searching for something new and exciting to listen to, check out Lunatic Soul. You should not be disappointed.

I like Riverside and picked this album due Mariusz Duda's great voice. However, I was very pleansantly surprised by the great production quality of this album. The music is enigmatic, on the softer side, with no guitars but great bass and percusssion arrangements performed with multiple instruments. Duda's voice is a great complement to the music, that incorporates Middle Eastern rythms and amazing electronic sound effects. I have listed to this album with headphones multiple times, it's truly mesmerizing!

There is nothing more I can say that hasn't already been said. It is a masterful package of emotion set to music.

I was so happy to discover this band from Pandora. This album is awesome and I haven't been disappointed with any thing concerning Lunatic Soul or Riverside. Mauriusz Duda is a very talented artist whose voice continues to shock and wow me as well as inspire me with my own artistic works and writing.

Words can't describe how much I love this CD. Start to finish. Just buy it and you'll see what everyone is talking about. In particular, Out on a Limb sends chills down my spine. The vocalist's use of what can quite literally be described as sobbing as a lyrical element is understated and yet deeply moving at the same time. You won't necessarily hear it unless you are paying attention and turn up the volume so do both and you will be richly rewarded. This is one CD that gets better and better the more you listen to it.

I don't know anything about the guys who make this music (or about its cousin band Riverside) except that they are from Poland yet sing in perfect English. Whoever they are, all I can say is WOW! I am amazing, moved, inspired and deeply touched by this music. Lunatic Soul, wherever you are, thank you many times for giving us this amazing gift - your talent, words, voice and an experience to be enjoyed again and again and again...

Music that seems like a dark, yet beautiful dream. It is not like Riverside except it has the same vocalist. There is no electric guitar, the only distortion occurs from a bass guitar. the percussion and the variety of instruments on this cd is amazing and it creates a great vibe that you will not find anywhere else. to describe it if possible, its a mixture of Porcupine Tree and non-death metal Opeth (which is awesome and very different from death metal.) Its not very much like the prog rock that we all know and love but yet I can't help but describe it by comparing it to prog rock bands because lets be honest where else can you get complexities in music these days.

This is an amazing album.
If you are at all familiar with Riverside you will see glimpses of familiarity between this record and those. But only glimpses.
If you want a comparison, it is probably more apt to envision an album inspired by "After" from Second Life Syndrome. Imagine an album based on those dark, atmospheric passages, without many guitar parts. Imagine more experimentation with world music type sounds, bombastic percussion, asian flutes, string passages and a much more clean and acoustic guitar sound. Don't get me wrong, there are pats that are more in your face, which adds to the variety here. This is not so in your face as modern Porcupine Tree, or Riverside. But , all in all, it somehow still captures the essence of their mood.
I held off on buying this album for a year, and more, but really regret that now as I have truly missed out on a superb record. All I can hope is that by reading this review I can inspire you to at least listening to the previews, and hopefully getting out of it even a fraction of what I have.

I'm not going to spend much time on this review.
I mainly wanted to add another 5-star review to add more reason for people considering this record to buy it.
If you are buying because you like progressive rock, and want something heavy ala Riverside or Porcupine Tree, think twice because this has very few heavy guitars in it.
It retains the great production, effects, and intelligent use of instruments of the other bands, but is more mellow and beautiful.
This is a very sincere record. Vocals are well-done, but subdued and never over-the-top.

If you like Riverside, and like the idea of a mellower (although not necessarily less-intense) sound, get this!