Lotus Bridge is the latest album by Indie-pop legends The Monochrome Set whose current line-up is Bid, Andy Warren, Stephen Gilchrist, Athen Ayren and Alice Healey. The album was recorded at One Cat Studio in London, engineered by Jon Clayton and produced by Jon Clayton and Bid.
The album opens with a plea for us all to come and join us on The Lotus Bridge having a good time skipping in among the flowers over the spry upbeat indie pop and pretty backing vocals, this will make you want to go and walk in a gorgeous park with a lake with a bridge to cross to gaze at the Lotus blossoms below.
A cushion of strings lead into Diaphanous that shimmers gloriously while Bid searches for his body in downtown alleys and other places, a sense of yearning and hope that a better future can be found if you can escape from the city.
The Abominations Of Hubert not certain if this is about Mr Selby Jnr or a different Hubert, but musically this is anything but abominable, the lyrics of course are a dark nasty tale told over the gently evocative music.
Jenny Greenlocks is someone Bid is afraid to fall asleep with, what is she whispering in his ear about, how will it all turn out, the chiming chamber pop gently conjuring up the different scenarios in the lyrics. Arcadia has Alice Healy scatting drawing us into her own personal Arcadia.
Athanatoi is about the immortals of the byzantine era, the acoustic guitar riff is accentuated by spry drumming and soft keyboards, allowing Bid to conjure up the correct imagery for the dream of ancient adventures. Leander has a late 60's organ jazz feel for Bid to grasp at the unknown problems keeping him up at night, memories of Mike's biggest triumphs perhaps.
Map Of The Night Sky is a solid piece of advice, we should always remember to look up and gaze millions of miles away, soft reveries of moon and star gazing at the ever-changing map of the night sky, with the wistful late 60's infused bucolic jazz pop opens up the vistas for you.
Polaris Aa is like a secret service spy tale of meetings in safe spaces, cemeteries with dead drops and secrets encoded in keyboard motifs, solace and intrigue emerge like Polaris the little bear that wanders through the cemetery, enlightening those in the correct spot, by the right mausoleum, all will be revealed.
The album closes still in the cemetery where the Monochrome Set have come to save Our Sweet Souls a chamber pop hymnal for finding beauty in sorrow, tambourine shimmers for those that left in that way, but no matter what, we will stay and remain in the light clear waters, once more drifting in the meadows, leaving the shadows of the past behind, farewell Our Sweet Soul.
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