Lunatic Soul is one of those projects/bands that has captivated me in such profound ways. I discovered the predominantly one-man band with the sixth album, Through Shaded Woods, when it came out in 2020. It was a spiritually healing album for me in the height of the pandemic and remains on constant rotation almost five years after its release. I soon went backward in the discography and found that the albums are all connected. Every album is a different part of ‘The Circle of Life and Death’ according to Lunatic Soul’s mastermind, Mariusz Duda. (who is also known for his musicianship in progressive rock band Riverside) The eighth and final part of the cycle, The World Under Unsun, fills the space between the third album, Impressions, and the fourth (and my personal favorite) album, Walking on a Flashlight Beam. Knowing the reflective despair that awaits in Walking… I was braced for a ride straight into a forlorn abyss with this double album. Clocking in at almost ninety minutes, there’s so much to say about this album. I narrowed it down to track highlights. 

“Good Memories Don’t Want to Die”  was the first song on my first listen-through to figuratively hit me right in the chest. A song of yearning and sorrow, strings and percussion, and the lyrics in the chorus are powerful. “…why do I suppress the bad things, as if nothing was wrong? …I deserve something better, I guess some part of my dream still goes on while I’m awake. Wake me up.” The conflicted feelings of wanting to be realistic and disconnect from someone who hurt you as quickly as possible, and feeling stuck by joyous memories, will hold back that process. It’s such a low feeling I can relate to, almost too well.

“The Prophecy” is the first single for the album. I adore the repetition of “when you woke up dead” followed by beautiful keys/piano solo in this one. It’s ethereal and dreamy, like the whispers of ocean waves. Mariusz said in his Instagram post about the song that he wrote it by the sea; you can feel it as you listen.

“Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed” is the longest song on the album at nearly 12 minutes. This song is full of easter eggs/music motifs from all of the other albums. What a delight for fans of the whole LS discography like me! While this album’s spot in the cycle falls more toward the beginning, this song gives it a ‘last album’ feel. The bassline melodies from Through Shaded Woods, ‘Ahhs’ from Fractured and Under a Fragmented Sky, and synths from Walking… Truly bridging the cycle altogether on this one.

“Torn in Two” is the last track on side/part 1 of this double album. There’s such a heartbreaking vulnerability in this track. The conflict of holding onto what you deep down need to let go of and feeling it slipping from your grasp is evoked with drifting piano melody and Mariusz mournfully singing “Stay with me, you know I’m not ready yet.” is utterly haunting and that final lyric “I’m still holding on, but without you I’ll fall apart.” is just crushing.

The synth-driven intro on “Hands Made of Lead” pulled me right into part 2 of this album. This one is beautiful, pensive, and mainly instrumental. There are a handful of instruments on this track, including saxophone and different types of bass, along with lots of ambient electronic elements, which made this an instant favorite for me.

Songs like “Confession” and “Self in Distorted Glass” dive into codependency and looking for yourself or other people you lost in others. “Confession” has a longing feeling in the main melody, and the acoustic guitar, along with its crescendos throughout, makes it a pleasant listen. “Self in Distorted Glass,” on the other hand, has an angrier, industrial vibe, with low synths and lyrics that can tear anyone who’s disillusioned with a codependent relationship straight through the heart. Breaking through such connections is difficult and takes a lot of shadow work, and this song evokes that process. It leads into the closing track “The New End” nicely. The softer, piano-based tune is a song of acceptance and of finally letting the heartache go. The lyric “You’ll always be a part of my soul” not only ends this album but also serves as a farewell to The Cycle of Life and Death itself, in such a beautiful way.

All in all, The World Under Unsun is an emotional journey full of grief, loss, and reflection. It also evoked the plethora of emotions that come with letting go of what you thought was forever, what was comfortable and safe. The withering and growth that comes with change, both chosen and the things out of your control. A feeling of closure flows through this album, from the analogies of looking for someone you lost in everyone you meet to finding life after feeling everything is gone. Like the moon cycle affects the sea tide, The World Under Unsun ebbs and flows in a way that, even though you’re leaving the shore, the cycle will continue long after you’re gone. May this album bring validity, clarity, and closure to anyone who listens to it, just as it has for me. 

The new Lunatic Soul album, The World Under Unsun, arrives on Friday, October 31st, via Inside Out Music. Order here.

Emily Schneider

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