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This is a blog dedicated to art, music and writing happening in Los Angeles. There is also a focus on Downtown LA.
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Militarie Gun announces 'Live Under The Sun' mini-doc premiering at Brain Dead Studios in LA on April 8th
Read more / PermalinkThe Umbrellas announce Tour Of The United States of America
[click here to buy / stream the new album]
VIDEO: "Three Cheers!" -
Youtube
Today San Francisco indiepop band The Umbrellas announce their first full headlining tour of The United States of America, in support of their recently released Slumberland LP Fairweather Friend (the tour also includes four shows in Canada). Check HERE for tickets.
TOUR DATES:
Fri 5/31 Los Angeles, CA Permanent Records *
Sat 6/01 Orange County, CA TBA
Sun 6/02 San Diego, CA Soda Bar
Mon 6/03 Phoenix, AZ Trunk Space
Wed 6/05 Dallas, TX Rubber Gloves
Thu 6/06 Austin, TX Mohwawk (Inside) #
Fri 6/07 New Orleans, LA BJs
Sun 6/09 Nashville, TN Soft Junk $
Mon 6/10 Atlanta, GA 529
Tue 6/11 Durham, NC The Pinhook
Wed 6/12 Washington, DC Quarry House Tavern &
Thu 6/13 Philadelphia, PA PhilaMOCA +
Fri 6/14 New York, NY The Broadway @
Sat 6/15 Boston, MA 4th Wall %
Sun 6/16 Montreal, QB Quai des Brumes
Mon 6/17 Toronto, ON Monarch Tavern
Tue 6/18 Cleveland, OH Happy Dog
Wed 6/19 Detroit, MI Outer Limits Lounge
Thu 6/20 Chicago, IL Cole's
Fri 6/21 Minneapolis, MN Cloudland ^
Mon 6/24 Vancouver, BC TBA
Tue 6/25 Victoria, BC Lucky Bar
Wed 6/26 Seattle, WA Sunset Tavern
Thu 6/27 Portland, OR Swan Dive
Sat 6/29 San Francisco, CA Kilowatt !
* = w/ Le Pain, Ted
# = w/ On Being An Angel, Touch Girl Apple Blossom
$ = w/ Ornament
& = w/ Linda Smith
+ = w/ 2nd Grade, The Smashing Times
@ = w/ The Smashing Times, Lightheaded
% = w/ Mall Cops
^ = w/ Jim Ruiz, Real Numbers
! = w/ Latitude
The Umbrellas are four renegade romantics crafting irresistible indie pop hymns. The band’s self-titled 2021 debut album became a breakout moment, winning critical praise and sparking an international tour. Follow-up LP Fairweather Friend goes a step further – absorbing the sonic attack of their live shows, it balances this with studio finesse, allowing the San Francisco four-piece to become the band they’ve always aspired to be.
The Umbrellas' self-titled 2021 debut album was a breakout moment in an otherwise grim year, winning critical praise and fueling tours with everyone from labelmates Papercuts to Fucked Up. Follow-up LP Fairweather Friend goes a step further – balancing the rambunctious sonic attack of their live shows with studio craft and finesse, allowing the San Francisco four-piece to become the band they’ve always aspired to be.
It's a record overflowing with highlights. The addictive, upbeat melodies of introductory track ‘Three Cheers!’ are matched to an impactful percussive punch; ‘Say What You Mean’ finds The Umbrellas working with total confidence, letting the song ride out to its chiming conclusion, four voices working in precision. ‘When You Find Out’ offers rotating notes of guitar punctuated by a vocal that pushes past angst to accept a world full of hope. A lean 10 track affair, it grasps towards beatific pop while fuelled by a sense of risk-taking and the precision that comes from long months on the road.
The Umbrellas coalesced in 2018 around a group of musicians with connections to the legendary San Francisco record emporium Amoeba Music. Singer and guitarist Matt Ferrera had previous links with bassist Nick Oka, as well as the powerhouse drummer Keith Frerichs. A chance encounter with Morgan Stanley singing karaoke at a Fourth of July party cemented the line-up around an avowed thirst for melody. “All of us love really earnest pop songs,” Nick points out. “I guess we got to a point in our lives where we wanted to be genuine.”
Playing shows at San Francisco’s vital DIY redoubt Hit Gallery, The Umbrellas would share line-ups with local heroes such as April Magazine and Cindy. Recording their debut album across a two-day spell at Matt’s parents’ house, the results won a devoted cult following. The experience of frequent touring bonded them tightly and allowed the volume to tick up a little higher (and higher...) and and feeding a desire for their next record to more closely mirror the energy of their live shows. “I think we got tired of people saying, oh you’re so much louder than I thought you’d be!” laughs Matt. “Our early recordings are sweet and earnest… and we wanted it to be louder.”
Kicking off sessions in November 2022, the band used an ad hoc space Matt created in his basement, which allowed the sessions to be a little more relaxed in terms of timescale than their debut. “We gave ourselves more space for this album,” says Keith. “We wanted time to sit on the songs, and really work on them.”
Capturing their thrilling live dynamic on tape, The Umbrellas are at once more physical and yet also more controlled on their new album. Take opening track ‘Three Cheers!’ – the peppy, sun-soaked rush masks a barbed lyric, courtesy of Nick Oka. “It’s a pseudo-political song about power struggles that occur in a job situation, or a friend group. It’s an observational song.”
‘Toe The Line’ has an unkempt, rollicking sense of energy, the playful relationship analogy of the lyric pushed to the speed of light by Keith’s just-chaotic-enough punk drumming. ‘When You Find Out’ meanwhile epitomises their unified, egalitarian way of making music – with The Umbrellas, each voice counts. “It sounds different from any song we’ve ever written together,” says Morgan. “It shows how much we’ve grown. Trust helps us to build the songs. It’s definitely a team effort.”
It's also a record of ambition. ‘Say What You Mean’ stretches past the four-minute mark, the viola performance informed by Estonian minimalist composer Arvo Pärt. ‘Gone’ was the first song attempted for the new album, and the last they actually finished, endless re-writes transforming it into a manifesto of control and release. Taken as a whole Fairweather Friend is a bold indiepop triumph, crafted with purpose and attention. Taking their time over each note, the four-piece have strengthened their songwriting, adding depth and assurance while unlocking their potential. Some bonds last a lifetime – The Umbrellas are ready to capture your heart.
The Umbrellas
Fairweather Friend
(Slumberland Records)
Street Date: Jan. 26, 2024
[click here to buy / stream]
Track Listing:
1. Three Cheers!
2. Goodbye
3. Toe the Line
4. Echoes
5. Say What You Mean
6. Games
7. Gone
8. When You Find Out
9. Blue
10. P.M.
THE UMBRELLAS LINKS:
The Umbrellas announce Tour of The United States of America
Read more / PermalinkOn May 24th, Australian group Girl and Girl will release their vibrant debut full-length, Call A Doctor, on CD/LP/DSP via Virgin Australia (AU/NZ) and Sub Pop (ROW.)
Following the infectious lead single “Hello,” which recently peaked at #1 for two weeks in a row on the subModern Alternative Specialty Chart, comes an official video for their latest single, “Mother.”
Girl and Girl frontperson Kai James shares: “I wrote Mother about my beautiful mum and how our relationship has matured and evolved from my late teens to my mid-twenties. Shifting from this all-knowing being into something a bit more human. There’s beauty in that shift, relief at the fact that no one’s perfect, but then fear and doubt, too, as you step out and slowly learn to trust and back yourself.”
Mother was directed by Andy Freer and Dan Flood of the internationally acclaimed Australian theatre company Snuff Puppets. Click HERE to watch.
Call A Doctor is an unforgettable first bow from Girl and Girl, an audacious and aggressively tuneful blast of a record from this Australian four-piece garage rock outfit. The band is comprised of frontperson Kai James (singer, guitarist) and his Aunty Liss (drums), along with longtime friends Jayden Williams (guitar) and Fraser Bell (bass). Call A Doctor was recorded at Sundowner Sound in Melbourne, a two-story industrial complex where the band ate, slept, and made music in marathon sessions for two weeks straight with producer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin).
As previously announced, the band has confirmed North American & Australian tour dates, with additional appearances at Eurokennees in France and End of the Road in the UK. Girl and Girl are fresh off performances at this year’s SXSW Music Festival. Rolling Stone included the band in their Day 2 SXSW round-up and said: “every member of Girl and Girl is too young to have experienced the garage rock revivalism of Y2K firsthand, save Aunty Liss, the drummer who supports her nervy nephews in this band of Australian post-punk traditionalists. Fronted by the wiry Kai James — handsome and jittery, never reclusive — the group treated sacred post-punk texts as if they were a common language when they played the 13th Floor, giving their barbed hooks and sideways riffs real kick. They’re carrying a torch without succumbing to nostalgia or formalism, all because they’re intoxicated by the noise they make.”
The band will return to the States in late April for a North American tour supporting fellow Aussies Royel Otis. See below for a complete list of shows.
Thur. Apr. 04 - Gold Coast, QLD - Mo’s Desert Clubhouse
Fri. Apr, 05 - Sunshine Coast, QLD - Sol Bar
Sat. Apr. 06 - Brisbane, QLD - Black Bear Lodge
Fri. Apr. 12 - Melbourne, VIC - The Tote
Sat. Apr. 13 - Sydney, NSW - Lansdowne
Sun. Apr. 14 - Wollongong, NSW - La La Las
Tue. Apr. 23 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam Bar & Hall *
WED. Apr. 24 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall *
Fri. Apr. 26 - Toronto, ON - Longboat Hall *
Sar. Apr. 27 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar *
Sun. Apr. 28 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop *
Tue. Apr. 30 - New York, NY - Racket *
Wed. May 01 - New York, NY - Racket *
Thu. May 02 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater For The Living Arts *
Fri. May 03 - Washington, DC - The Howard *
Sat. May 04 - Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle *
Wed. May 08 - Austin, TX - The Parish *
Thu. May 09 - Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves *
Sat. May 11 -Denver, CO - The Perplexiplex at Meow Wolf *
Wed. May 15 - Phoenix, AZ - Rebel Lounge *
Thu. May 16 - Hollywood, CA - The Fonda Theater *
Fri. May 17 - Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club *
Sat. May 18 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop *
Mon. May 20 - Portland, OR - The Aladdin Theater *
Tue. May 21 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret *
Wed. May 22 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theater *
Thu. Jul. 04 - Cravanche, FR - Les Eurokennees
Fri. Jul. 05 - Cravanche, FR - Les Eurokennees
Sat. Jul. 06- Cravanche, FR - Les Eurokennees
Sun. Jul. 07- Cravanche, FR - Les Eurokennees
Thu. Aug. 29 - Dorset, UK - End Of The Road
Fri. Aug. 30 - Dorset, UK - End Of The Road
Sat. Aug. 31 - Dorset, UK -End Of The Road
Sun. Sep. 01 - Dorset, UK -End Of The Road
* w/ Royel Otis
GIRL AND GIRL SHARE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “MOTHER” FROM CALL A DOCTOR
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Hiatus Kaiyote announces new album 'Love Heart Cheat Code' + shares new single
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Princess Goes (Michael C. Hall) Announces EU/U.S. Tour Dates + New Live Video | ‘Come Of Age’ LP Out Now via SO In De Goot Recordings
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