LUNATIC SOUL

RIVERSIDE's vocalist, MARIUSZ DUDA, has astounded me with a very well-crafted, amazingly well-recorded/engineered album in which the band plays an amazing array of the instruments--many of the from the "world music" realm of indigenous instruments. This is an album of great sounds in which the world instruments are treated with highly unusual effects, great--often haunting or very atmospheric--mixes, outstanding recording and engineering. It is also an album of disappointment in that no song really develops 'laterally' or 'directionally;' instead each song begins with a theme over which layer after layer of interesting instrumentation and effects are added and yet there is rarely any 'change'--tempo, key, thematic, etc. And Mariusz's wonderful voice--or rather, the one we're familiar with from his RIVERSIDE performances--is heard surprisingly little.

1. "prebirth" (1:10)
is a collage of world music instruments setting up the album's predominantly somber, sometimes eerie mood. 8/10

2. "the new beginning" (4:50)
begins with more exotic world instruments. It has very nice guitars and vocal in the first two minutes and a great mix, mood throughout. I just keep waiting for the change, the shift, the excitement. 7/10

3. "out on a limb" (5:27)
has Duda singing in his RIVERSIDE voice. There is a very nice climax to fade in the fourth minute. 7/10

4. "summerland" (5:00)
is a pretty enough song--with nice CHROMA KEY vocal and melody. The build is nice--especially after the 3:15 mark. 7/10

5. "lunatic soul" (6:47)
begins with kalimba, keys, and acoustic guitar in a very PORCUPINE TREEish sound--even/especially when the organ and drums are added. 7/10

6. "where the darkness is deepest" (3:57)
has a very modern, computer age/PORCUPINE TREE sound to it until the piano comes in at the 3:00 mark. 7/10

7. "near life experience" (5:27)
is the most developed song (thus far) though still sounds like a CHROMA KEY song. Unfortunately, this one is an instrumental; it's just begging for some vocals! 8/10

8. "adrift" (3:05)
begins with a very spaced-out acoustic guitar, which is then joined by drums, a second acoustic guitar, and a vocal. At 1:00 bass enters with a nice FRIPP-y guitar solo. 8/10

9. "the final truth" (7:34)
is a nice vehicle for a great voice and vocal. I t keeps building and building, adding layer after layer, but ultimately goes nowhere. 8/10

10. "waiting for the dawn" (3:36) is the world music outro bookend to the album's "prebirth" intro. 7/10

Overall a very nice album which sounds great but lacks the interesting musical constructs to bring one back again and again. (Though I keep going back again and again--thinking that I might have missed something--that the twists and hooks are there, I just wasn't listening closely.) This 'band' certainly has great chemistry and talent, but they need more ambitious songwriting/er.

3.5 stars marked down for monotony.