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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Lunatic Soul Lunatic Soul 2 Review by Gary Hill This is the second album from Lunatic Soul, the side project of Riverside front man Mariusz Duda. The music is very much in keeping with modern melodic progressive rock. It leans on the mellow side pretty heavily, but manages to rock out at times, too. All in all, it’s a cool album that is entertaining and rich. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2011 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

The In-Between Kingdom This builds gradually in a dramatic and powerful balladic motif. It’s quite pretty and also, somehow rather ominous. This is more or less an instrumental, but there are some non-lyrical vocals.

Otherwhere This feels a bit like an extension of the previous number at first. It’s a guitar driven balladic cut that’s gentle and quite melodic. The vocals are quite folk-like. Parts of this call to mind Pink Floyd a bit.

Suspended In Whiteness A harder rocking tune, this calls to mind Porcupine Tree and other modern progressive rock bands. It’s a cool tune and again has some Pink Floyd on the table.

Asoulum Dramatic and dark, yet understated and mellow, modes start things off here. The cut builds on those, rather like Pink Floyd blended with Alice Cooper and modern Marillion. It rocks out harder later, but retains the melodic elements.

Limbo Keys start this, then percussion takes over. It’s an odd little instrumental that is less than two minutes in length. Even as the percussion drives it, keys still deliver bits of odd melody and some of the percussion is tuned percussion. Or perhaps it’s some sort of synthesizer simulating tuned percussion.

Escape From Paradice The percussive nature of the last number is continued here, and it feels very tribal in style. There are melody lines driven over the top that continue the same sort of odd jazz like sounds as were heard in the previous piece. When the vocals join, it’s got a great groove and has a sound that seems to combine 1980s sounds with modern progressive rock. It fires out into a high energy prog jam as it continues. This is quite a dynamic and diverse piece. It’s also very powerful. Comparisons to Porcupine Tree and acts like Phideaux would be appropriate at times.

Transition This comes out of the previous piece with ambient tones gradually building in a melodic and sedate way. It remains very mellow and understated even after the vocals enter. This is quite a slow moving and balladic tune. Around the six minute mark (at over eleven minutes in length, this is the longest cut on show) it powers out into a harder rocking jam that’s a bit like Porcupine Tree meets Hawkwind. It takes on more 80s stylings as it continues.

Gravestone Hill This song is shorter and more of a mellow ballad, like folk rock meets progressive rock.

Wanderings More of a jazzy element dominates this, but jazzy like early Pink Floyd. Again, acts like Porcupine Tree are good comparisons, but I can even make out Depeche Mode at times. The arrangement gets much more lush as it continues and this is quite a powerful piece of music. It fires out into a different movement later that’s very cool.

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