The Umbrellas

2023年リプレス!ネオアコ、ギターポップ、D.I.Y.ポップの歴史を凝縮させたUSジャングリーポップ・バンド傑作デビュー・アルバム!!

長きに渡りD.I.Y.ポップ・ミュージック / アンダーグラウンド・ミュージックの重要拠点として、数え切れないほどのバンドを排出して来たサンフランシスコ・ベイエリアからまたもや強力なニューカマーが登場!80年代～90年代のネオアコ、ギターポップ、インディーポップの歴史を凝縮させたかの様な音楽性でD.I.Y.ポップシーンに躍り出た、男女4人組ジャングリーポップ・バンドTHE UMBRELLASのデビュー・フルアルバム。THE BYRDS、ORANGE JUICE、THE PASTELS、COMET GAIN、BELLE & SEBASTIANらに影響を受け、サンフランシスコのガレージポップ/ペイズリーアンダーグラウンドのテイストが顕著に表れたバンド・サウンド、清涼感溢れるヴォーカル、そして煌めく様なメロディーが完璧な黄金比で迫りくるリードオフ・シングル"SHE BUYS HERSELF FLOWERS"をチェックすれば一気にその魅力に引き込まれます!

The debut album from this Midwestern trio (a quintet when in the studio) is a collection of refreshingly timeless weirdo pop music -- tuneful without being aggressively hooky, analog-sounding without being aggressively retro, unabashedly emotional without being emo. If someone told you these songs had been written in 1975 you might not bat an eye, nor would you be surprised to learn that they were written in 2004. Bandleader Scott Windsor sings in a dreamy, slightly affected style that lies somewhere between Gart Greensides whisper and labelmate Bryce Avarys apple-cheeked enthusiasm. The band supplies soft and billowy accompaniment, and when he belts out the soaring refrain on "Ghost" or tiptoes through the more delicate (but equally gorgeous) melody of "Broken Ice," its pure goose-pimple time. Moments like those make it easy to overlook the preciousness of the little lyric quotes under the song titles on the back of the package or goofy, faux-elegant song titles like "June, Summer, Rose." The fact is, Windsor does come across as more than a little bit pretentious at various moments throughout the album. But you cant hold it against him when he delivers the pure pop goods as effectively as he does here. And this is just the first album, folks. ~ Rick Anderson