LUNATIC SOUL II

A fan and critic of the first Lunatic Soul album, I am pleased to feel some progress, some development, some maturation of this ensemble on this, their second LP. Where I was crying out for melody and song development on the previous album, this one shows more of both.

1. "The In-between Kingdom" is a slow-moving, sonically full instrumental which displays the same familiar LUNATIC SOUL 'world' sound. Though this song has a rather nice melody line, it exhibits the same unchanging repetitiveness which, IMHO, plagued their previous album. 7/10

2. "Otherwhere" is an innocuous little diddie that is, while pleasant enough, still suffering from lack of development, change and diversity. 5/10

3. "Suspended in Whiteness" begins simply with a rather nice melody but suffers from over three minutes of monotony. But wait! Could it be! At the 3:20 mark, FINALLY, there is a change, a shift, development! And it almost gets complicated and does get emotional. Thank you, Mariusz! This is what I've been waiting for! Great tune! 8/10

4. "Asoulum" starts with the feel of a NIRVANA song. Then a synthesizer comes in and some high-range vocal harmonies fill the sonic plane for nearly a minute. Back to the opening section--but, no! Mariusz and his b-vox have created something new, fresh, harmonically interesting. These are vocals to listen to over and over! Very cool! And a very interesting outro section, too. 8/10

5. "Limbo" is a brief instrumental interlude. Again: innocuous, worldly, and constant--though it does hold the album's tension quite nicely. 6/10

6. "Escape from Paradice" continues the emotional trip through earthly dross (I find no "up" or "light" or "positivity" in this music. I do find beauty, though.) I love the shift and scream at the 2:30 mark. At least this song moves. 7/10

7. "Transition" is the best song DAVID SYLVIAN never did. It begins very ambiently and builds very slowly--for over five minutes--until a PETER GABRIEL-ish transition into (other-)world sounds (TONY LEVIN with Australian Aborigines?!) An awesome, powerful second part of the song. Incredible synth outro! The highlight of the album--by far--and one of the best songs of the year! 10/10

8. "Gravestone Hill" is a simple song reminding me of BRUCE COCKBURN and ABNEY PARK. Pleasant and emotional. 7/10

9. "Wanderings" contains some trippy-New Age sounding sounds while establishing a very full and emotional aural textural field. Mariusz' voice and the entry of drums at the 1:30 mark are the only things really keeping this song out of the BUDDHA LOUNGE cds. But wait! At 3:18 a synthesizer and vocal bring the song into the NEW ORDER/DEPECHE MODE realm. Nice bass work. Nice song. 8/10 Though there is still a lot of room for compositional growth and maturity in these songsters, I am continually intrigued and drawn in by Lunatic Soul's fearless use of a wide variety of world, ethnic and even electronic instruments. I am also greatly enamored by the deeply emotional aural landscapes their music paints. Greatly improved use of Mariuisz Duda's vocal talents. Keep it coming, LS! A very solid, strong 4 stars. An excellent addition to my music collection that I know will keep me coming back again and again.