siLLy puPPy Mariusz Duda is best known for his role as bassist and lead vocalist of the Polish band Riverside which has been quite successful in creating a more metallic take on Porcupine Tree’s heavier space rock style. Having enjoyed a good run with Riverside’s first three albums, Duda did what many musicians due after a hectic touring schedule and a commitment to the never-ending world of rock stardom, namely decided to take a time out and do a solo project that would allow another perspective of the creative process to come through.

The result was the new project LUNATIC SOUL which started out as a mere self-titled album release but has since become quite a steady solo career with seven albums to date. This debut was released in 2008 after the “Rapid Eye Movement” album from Riverside and found Duda handling most of the project alone only with the help of a few lineup musicians on various instruments. The album featured ten tracks and hovered around the 47 minute mark making this one a bit shorter than some of those lengthy Riverside albums.

This album is a concept album that deals with the subject of death from different perspectives even taking things as far as featuring the song “Summerland” described from the vantage point of a deceased person. The album is dark and like Riverside albums fueled with an atmospheric haze that sounds more like a lighter version of Riverside when all is said and done which is impossible not to make comparisons considering Duda’s vocal style is exactly the same as his main band. The main difference is the absence of electric guitar and thus any metal bombast. In many ways this LUNATIC SOUL debut sounds like an unplugged version of his main band.

The instrumentation is rich with Duda playing the usual bass, acoustic guitar and various percussion. Joining Duda from Riverside is keyboardist Michał Łapaj along with several others. Like Duda’s main gig Riverside, LUNATIC SOUL reminds me way too much of Porcupine Tree and not really in a good way. While i love Steven Wilson’s unique voice and psychedelic swirls around his pop infused hooks with the extra mojo of heavy rock, LUNATIC SOUL and Riverside for that matter just seem to rub me the wrong way. Firstly Duda’s voice is not very interesting to my ears and the derivative nature of the production just makes me want to listen to a much more interesting Porcupine Tree album.

Add to that this kind of stuff is just too airy faery and sounds insincere. I’m really not sure why this light and fluffy style of crossover prog is so popular but i call this “teddy bear prog” because it’s safe and secure and like some sort of emotional security blanket for those who are afraid of the dark. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing really horrible about LUNATIC SOUL’s sound here but on the flip side of the coin there’s not really anything to get excited about either. It’s all very predictable with Duda’s flirtation with Chris Isaak-like crooning that just doesn’t float my boat. Riverside i can handle in small doses especially the first couple albums but LUNATIC SOUL comes off as the easy listening section of the prog superstore where even neo-prog seems more daring in comparison.