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Tomorrow night the Burlington hosts another impressive bill, headlined by Cleveland's Imaginary Softwoods, a solo project of another Emeralds member, John Elliott (whose other musical aliases include Mist and Inner Spaced). The evening's openers are Portland-based Rene Hell (aka Jeff Witscher) and two Chicago acts, Chemtrails and Chelsey Hoff. The most recent Imaginary Softwoods release, The Path of Spectrolite (Amethyst Sunset), doesn't sound all that different from Emeralds, with lush, pulsing synthesizers shaping a mix of ambient drone, kosmische, and 70s progressive rock, but Elliott assembles the electronic parts (and the subtle, abstract vocals) with the care and logic of a composer. Compared with his earlier recordings in this guise, which were more austere, harsher, and more monochromatic, The Path of Spectrolite is an explosion of color and dynamics: an unrelenting winter transforming into the brilliance of spring. You can check out a track from the album below.
Imaginary Softwoods, "Eye Color"
Today's playlist:
Joe Harriott Quintet, Swings High (Cadillac)
T. Rex, Futuristic Dragon (Rhino)
Sonny Simmons, Staying on the Watch (ESP-Disk)
Trio Mocotó, Trio Mocotó (RGE/Som Livre)
Lee "Scratch" Perry & the Upsetters, The Upsetter Shop, Volume 2: 1969 to 1973 (Heartbeat)