How To Dream In Color is the 11th studio album from Lotus, and it’s a winning mix of a wide range of song stylings. There’s a lot to like for long time fans and newbies as well. ‘How to Dream in Color’ has synth and airy-guitar tunes that sound like early Lotus (), guitar-driven, edgey rock tracks and songs with vocals making an eclectic blend. It’s the first album since the tragic passing of long-time percussionist Chuck Morris and it’s great to hear them continue in their traditional sound by layering in percussion.
I’ve been listening to Lotus for 20 years and seeing live for about 17 years! That’s an important distinction because there’s nothing like a live Lotus show to take you on an exploratory journey. Their studio albums set the foundation of the songs, establish the melody and main themes and the live shows stretch the songs in multiple directions and dimensions, expanding and contracting the hooks and connections and put the jam in jamtronica. Lotus has already played a few of these songs live a couple of times, even prior to the Philly album release party so they’re already morphing a bit and will continue to do so.
‘How to Dream in Color’ pushes the boundaries of Lotus’ signature jamtronica sound. There are funky, danceable tracks and more atmospheric, ambient moments, making this album is a must-listen for fans of electronic music, funk, and psychedelia. Here’s my take on this album of vibrant sound and color, track-by-track.
Track-By-Track
How Do I Come Down was the first single from the album and features Gabe Otto on vocals. Otto is the long-time vocal collaborator of the band on such popular tunes as Eat the Light. For many including me, he adds a Talking Heads, 80s rock vibe to the songs. HDICD is no exception and it’s super danceable tune starting with the the bouncy bass + drum intro. It’s edgey, guitar driven with a 150 bpm rhythm. The bridge has a brief chorus from Gabe and then there’s a very brief guitar riff from Tim Palmieri that calls to mind Also sprach Zarathustra (2001 Space Odyssey) intro before he jus shreds a monster riff. The close has Gabe and band with the main them going hard.
Splinter has a techno kickoff before the guitar head kicks in with a deep bass/synth vibe with some cheerful backing vocals from Rachel Eisenstat. It’s a pulsating, emminently stretchable dance tune live I’m sure.
Watching the Distant Storm is a more traditional, chill Lotus song with some synth vocals and a slower tempo. It’s got some warped that could very well represent a thunder sound and some higher pitched synth + guitar from Luke and Tim. It’s in the tradition of some of the Lotus classics with Earth atmospheric events like Umbilical Moonrise (and Sunset).
On My Block again features Gabe Otto on vocals and it’s one of my early favorites. It’s got a throwback feel to 80s pop and the lyric of “Hello, see you later” reminds my of the the catchy and contradictory lyric “Hello, Goodbye” from The Beatles. It’s quite distinctive overall, while not super-jammy.
Reed catches you right from the start with it’s undulating synth, bopping along. The childlike vocals sample reminds me a bit of “Buttercup”, the Jack Stauber song that Lotus has covered a bunch of times the last few years. The second half has a deep pocket groove that would fit in at any festival rave. It’s characteristic by mellifluous synth bass and swirling synth and sustained guitar chords.
Can You Hear the Sound has Arthur Lewis on lead vocals on this downtempo tune. Luke is on piano and it’s a great mix of electronica and traditional rock. Tim has a beautiful emotive solo at the bridge.
Electric Orange is another favorite of mine because of the happy feel and the indescrible lyric/chant that repeats throughout that I can only describe as a fuzzed up “Wooowww.” From the liner notes, it’s a talkbox by John O’Halloran (Chalk Dinosaur). The section where Tim and Luke play in parallet, followed by the synth melody is very soothing.
Bamboo Forest has a steel pan or marimba-like intro. The guitar-bass line would fit in well with some earlier Lotus albums like Hammerstrike (2008). It has an excellent subtle touch of violin provided by Jinty McTavish. The transition in the B-section to a faster bass and guitar driven rhythm amps the excitement. The airy bridge segues to another excellent Tim guitar solo. It’s pretty remarkable how many memorable melodies Luke and Jesse are capable of, adding another one to the collection here. P.S. the shooting comet sound at the end is dope.
Glass deserves a shoutout to Mike “Greenie” Greenfield who is a human jet propulsion machine. He’s been doing double duty on percussion for over a year now. His groove on this is just perfect. Remarkably, it also has subtle horns provided by Brothers of Brass that blend in perfectly in the back half. Glass is so smooth and the band glides on this starting light and then building to a larger sound and then dropping back to a softer finish.
In the Shadow of the Mountain is a full throttle rocker. The guitar intro and main theme feels like a wonderful ‘cruising’ song, Tim leads throughout most of the song. There’s a quick B-section break to a lighter keys section before the main theme amps up, revving the Tim engine. It triggers “We Got the Beat” from The Go-Gos in my head for a brief moment. Tim again lights it up with a transcendent solo in the back half, probably an overall album highlight. Apparently, some of the backing sound is augmented by The Creative Horns, blending in superbly.
Goodnight Supermoon is a jazzy, drifting in the clouds tune. Tim’s guitar floats atop the band’s ethereal backgroup. This is one that could fit in the repertoire of some of the early fusion greats like Return to Forever.
Wavvvves is another jazz fusion feeling tune. The title seems intended to set the tone. Tunes like this one are probably the root of my infatuation with Lotus. They cross so many genres whle clearly establishing their own signature on the music they make. It’s beautiful at all levels and will take your mind to places that you may never have visited otherwise. The guitar work here, over the lush, layered synth, bass and drums is mind expanding.
Purchase on Bandcamp
