SOFT MACHINE – OTHER DOORS (2023)

The response to this album has been positive, and it’s easy to hear why if you sample the five available tracks on Bandcamp as a representation of the seemingly everlasting Softs. ‘Penny Hitch’ is most efficacious largely due to JOHN ETHRIDGE’s guitar break (He also excels on the title track which he also wrote and on which THEO TRAVIS’s sax gets a good workout) and JOHN MARSHALL’s drumming – not bad for an 81 year old! On ‘Joy of a Toy’ Fred Baker’s fretless bass has its moment in the spotlight and there is a lot packed into an edgy 3:24! ‘Back in Season’ is 7 minutes of jazz rock bliss and there’s a wonderful interchange between Travis’s flute and Ethridge’s guitar. ‘Backwards’ is offered as a bonus track and the whole thing was recorded at JON HEISMAN’s Temple Music Studio. It’s out now on Moon June Records.