What happens when you give an English lecturer an electric guitar and a band of handpicked musical collaborators? 

You get Invisible Homes, the Burlington art rock band fronted by UVM’s own English professor Sean Witters. 

Invisible Homes’ debut album, “Song for My Double,” set to be released May 8, has been in the works for the last two years.

The project finally came together following their five days spent in a cabin, a place that has “personal significance” to Witters, he said.  

The making of the album, however, was not necessarily an individual experience. 

Witters said this project has been a huge collaborative effort. 

“I called up every friend I ever played with. We have really built a community around this project,” he said.  

Additionally, Witters said his wife designed the glass house artwork for the band logo and album cover. 

“I think the classroom taught me to be extroverted again,” Witters said in regard to how his position at UVM has influenced him in his art. 

He also acknowledged the similarities between himself and William Carlos Williams, a modernist writer and pediatrician, who wrote his poems in between appointments.  

The name “Invisible Homes” is taken from a Ralph Ellison essay, and is a “mark of the literary quality” that Witters said he brings to the album. 

As an album, “Song for My Double” is a “meditation on doubleness” in its many forms, Witters said. 

The group considers itself an art rock band comprised of veterans of the Vermont music scene who are striving for an eclectic sound driven by sonic experimentation. 

The album features a “West African funk” track, as well as a trip-hop reggae number entitled “The Clown.”

The band has embraced what they call “creative accidents” stating that, “instead of throwing them out you work with them.” 

Witters said the band has drawn influence from artists such as Radiohead, Mogwai, Wilco, and the Flaming Lips. 

The band hosted its own Kickstarter fundraiser on March 11 to raise money for digital mastering in order to finalize the project.  Invisible Homes reached its goal April 10. 

Fans are invited to attend a free debut concert at Club Metronome, May 8 at 9 p.m.

The show will feature guest appearances by artists such as Barika, Zach duPont, Justin Levinson, Chris Dorman and more. 

There will also be a live stream of the show on WRUV May 13. 

Readers can like the event and follow the band on its Facebook page.