The past 50 years certainly haven’t dulled the Monochrome Set’s wiggy-yet-erudite sense of the absurd. As you’d expected over a half century, there’s been some attrition, with band founder Bid and bassist Andy Warren the sole original members wending their way through Lotus Bridge.
The band’s sixth studio effort for the Tapete label is purportedly based on an actual dream sequence, which Bid recounts in meticulous, often cinematic detail. The overall premise is a sort of Alice In Wonderland meets Anthony Newley meets Ken Kesey acid test, administered with orchestral flair and sophisticated hooks.
Bid walks us through the surreal storyline.
1) “Lotus Bridge”
“The song is about a dream I had in January 2024. I was walking barefoot over wet grass along a riverbank at dusk. I approached a bridge made of many leaves floating on the water, stretching dimly to the bank on the other side. I noticed they were lotus leaves. I can’t remember if I was already trying to find a way to cross, or if I decided to do so when I saw the bridge. Strutting across it were tiny people: cheerful two-dimensional goblins painted in watercolors like cartoon characters. I carefully picked my way over the wet, undulating leaves. When I reached the other side, I was approached by a glowing figure who welcomed me, saying this was the new world and that I’d be happy here. But I remembered that I’d left someone behind in the ruins of the old world, and I had to go and fetch her. So I went back across the bridge. The following songs are about my journey back to find that ‘someone’ and my encounters on the way.”
2) “Diaphanous”
“As I come to a city, I feel a change inside me. I notice that no one can see me, and I don’t know why. A ghost—who can see me—approaches and asks me if I can help her find her body, which we eventually find in an alley. I carry it to the garth of an abandoned cloister for burial. Her ghost thanks me and disappears. I see a small bar, which I enter. The sole occupant is an old bartender who greets me and introduces himself as Blaise. I wonder how he can see me, and he says he was a sailor and can see all souls. Over drinks, he tells me two stories.”
3) “The Abominations Of Hubert”
“His first story is about a sailor called Hubert, who lives nearby. Many years ago, after returning from a trip to the Caribbean, Hubert became haunted by terrible nightmares. He sought the advice of a witch, who told him to entice his nightmares into a large cage in his attic and play music to them each evening to send them to sleep. He used a theremin. It worked.”
4) “Jenny Greenlocks”
“Blaise then tells of a mermaid who dwells in a pool away from the city. Once a month, she sings magical songs that make people feel good in a way they don’t understand.”
5) “Arcadia”
“As I go to leave the bar, I hear a female voice singing behind a door at the back. Blaise tells me to ignore it.”
6) “Athanatoi”
“Back on the streets, I see empty clothes pass by, surrounded by ethereal voices singing of a lonely freedom.”
7) “Map Of The Night Sky”
“I pass a domed building and enter. Beyond a short corridor is a vast, circular room with a vaulted ceiling. The floor, walls and ceiling are dark and covered with stars, some connected in unknown, slowly moving constellations. Sitting at the center of this room is a hare with an abacus and piles of paper. He complains that he’s unable to predict the future due to the constantly moving and changing stars. We ride out of the room on his bicycle.”
8) “Leander”
“Continuing my walk, I see an old friend. He’s almost unrecognizable and seems disconnected from his surroundings. I don’t know if he can see or remember me, which makes me sad.”
9) “Polaris Aa”
“As I near the outskirts of the city, a crow flies low and past me, dropping a piece of paper on the floor. On the paper are instructions to find that ‘someone.’ The note is in her handwriting. She’s waiting in a mausoleum in the graveyard, where I meet and follow a cat who leads me there.”
10) “Our Sweet Souls”
“We both leave the graveyard with the intention of returning to the lotus bridge and crossing over. On our way there, we meet the souls of people we used to know. They encourage us to keep moving and leave them behind.”
