Mariusz Duda might be better known as the vocalist, bassist and sometime guitarist with Riverside, but his solo endeavour Lunatic Soul has co-existed in tandem for 17 years now.
Even an outfit with tendencies as progressive as Riverside are fettered to some degree by the traditional band format, leaving Duda in search of greater freedom that allows the multi-instrumentalist to explore other musical paths.
With Riverside having put 2023 album ID.Entity to bed and announced a temporary break from touring, now is the perfect time for Duda to bring back his alter ego. The World Under Unsun is perhaps the most involved of the eight records he’s released under that name.
It’s a 90-minute double album with a number of lengthy compositions, representing the final instalment in The Circle Of Life And Death – a grand interlinking concept based on a solitary protagonist’s journey.
Of course, exploring the cycle of birth and reibirth in chronological order would be far too simple, so the timeline here is set between 2017’s Fractured and 2014’s Walking On A Flashlight Beam.
The title track kicks things off in relatively understated fashion, with a plinking rhythm and breaths of woodwind. There’s a cinematic bent to it and a distinctly melancholy feel, with Unsun representing a solar eclipse.
‘Despite the endless dark/Under Unsun/I’ll search for my light,’ Duda croons, painting in broad swathes of light and shade as the traveller attempts to break free from familiar toxic patterns.
It’s almost as sprawling musically as it is thematically. Nothing feels forced or added for its own sake; the album ebbs and flows organically, veering through different styles.
Hands Made Of Lead has an atmospheric groove while Self In Distorted Glass lowers under a dark gothic grandeur. Even when Loops Of Fate crams in everything from bongos to electronic loops and saxophone, there’s a cohesiveness to the songwriting.
There’s been a certain amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans concerned that the end of the Life And Death cycle might mean the end of Lunatic Soul itself.
Given the store that Duda sets in the outlet his solo project provides, it seems pretty certain that something of a similar cast will continue – even if a reset needs to happen. Whatever does occur, this is a fantastically evocative album that closes this chapter of Lunatic Soul’s journey in style.
The World Under Unsun is on sale now via InsideOut.
