The Monochrome Set Lotus Bridge

Unashamedly literate UK post-punk sophisticates The Monochrome Set, having amassed a formidable catalogue of releases over 5 decades, are ready to release their new opus on Tapete Records - the band's home for the last twelve years and six studio albums. Their instantly recognisable sound and darkly humorous lyrics have always set them apart. Bid's cerebral wit and debonair tones, melded to infectious melodies and deft songcraft of a cinematic and literary quality, have been quietly influential over a diverse set of artists since their inception and throughout different stages of their career. The band are, in essence, a national treasure.
The new album Lotus Bridge is a psychedelic trip into Bid’s rich and fantastical dreamworld. Based on a singular dream that re-presented itself after an eight-month hiatus just when it became time to record again, Bid recounts in sharp detail the myriad of characters and surroundings that appeared in his dream and inspired this new set of stories to unfold. Bid elucidates, "It seemed to me, as I wrote these lyrics, that this whole story was a metaphor for a crumbling civilization, and whether or not I would leave it behind if I were given the opportunity. The other side of the bridge represents what seems to be an unknown future that I'm being asked to accept without explanation, and the other songs represent a journey back through the past and are a sometimes allegorical re-evaluation of it. I think that I managed to keep to a close narrative thread in the lyrics, and deliberately kept the underlying musical structures in a similar tempo and key. Even old poetry is timeless, if it is about personal experiences".
This new album follows on from Bid's recently released book of selected lyrics - Strange Young Alien - published by Ventil Verlag in November 2025 - a book that gives invaluable insight into his songwriting process and the more you learn about Bid's writing process, the more mysterious and intriguing things become.
Lotus Bridge has a subtle but quite different feel to previous TMS albums - the core use of electric piano and acoustic guitar, electric guitars often used in wide stereo, and overall a very focused and almost orchestral feel to it. There are also ambient sounds between many of the songs, so that the whole album feels like a connected whole. Bid is joined in The Monochrome Set for this recording by fellow original Andy Warren on bass, Stephen Gilchrist on drums and Athen Ayren on keyboards and guitar. Alice Healey once again provides backing vocals.