Sometimes, bands hit the sophomore slump. Other times, they power through it to offer something that transcends their debut. SubLunar is the latter. Their new album A Random Moment of Stillness is head and shoulders above their debut, which itself was excellent. The new record released on April 13th.
SubLunar hails from Poland. Their 2019 debut A Welcome Memory Loss was terrific, all things considered. I loved it. But something about the new album just connects with me more. The current lineup includes Łukasz Dumara on vocals, Michał Jabłoński and Marcin Pęczkowski on guitars, Jacek Książek on bass, and Łukasz Wszołek on drums.
On their first record, they played a steely, Porcupine Tree-esque progressive rock, and it was good. This album leans more into a blend between spacey prog rock and shoegazing post-rock. The guitar work is fall more elongated and hovering, the atmosphere is potent, and the vocals are better than ever.
I want to reiterate that. Łukasz’s vocals are a major highlight for me; he has such artistic flair, but not too much. He is incredibly articulate, too, but without sounding rigid. It’s the little extra flourishes and slightly different pronunciations that really make his performance memorable.
But the rest of the band really delivers, too. Łukasz on drums lays down an intricate and rumbling performance, and Jacek’s bass is a powerhouse and major player. Michał and Marcin’s guitars are truly beautiful, flickering in and out of the music with emotive energy.
A Random Moment of Stillness only has six songs, but each of them is a winner. It’s a marvelously consistent album, too; I can’t say one half is better than the other. In the first half, we get the excellent opener “Bear With Me”, stylish and bass-driven; I love how elegant the vocals are in the second part. “Unmanned” is one of the singles, and it is a groovy and yet atmospheric piece with a sense of authenticity and purity. The first half ends with “Falling Upwards”, one of my favorites; this song has such an attractive tempo that it’s easy to get lost in it. I love the meat in the guitar riffs and the instrumental in the middle that is so airy and light.
The second half is just as good. “Reasonate” sort of has a sinister rhythm to it and its punchy guitar licks feel shadowy. The last two songs are more favorites. “Attract/Deter” has an electronic overlay that gives it real character; I like how it almost feels ambient at times, and how there’s this reserved sort of overdrive in others. The closer “A Sun Blur” is my favorite overall, and probably one of my favorite songs this year. This ten-minute piece leans into the shoegaze aspects; the first half of it feels dark and pensive, but the last half is a soaring, soothing, cosmic wind of guitars and electronic accents and melody. The sheer emotion it portrays makes you want to hear it again and again.
SubLunar are up-and-coming, and while they share similarities with other Polish bands, they have their own identity already, and I’m impressed by the clarity and conciseness of their writing. They don’t add filler or fluff, but they also emote very well. Fans of any type of progressive music need to add this to their lists.
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The PROG Mind 