I named this post "It's True" because that song title most accurately answers any questions about the veracity of the hype around this Bay Area outfit. The Umbrellas have released a few things already but, dammit, if The Umbrellas isn't a glorious throwback masterpiece. Once again the radar of the folks at Slumberland Records has been shown to be wildly accurate.
If opener "Lonely" rings with the promise of a bunch of old Talulah Gosh and Heavenly sides, the more droll "Autumn" nods in the direction of American indie pioneers Beat Happening. Nearly anything on The Umbrellas reveals a debt owed to the very best records in your collection, but, luckily, the players here make this stuff fresh all over again. When Morgan Stanley sings, like on the Darling Buds-ish "Happy", things go in a more energetic direction. But it's the push-and-pull between her vocals and guitar, and the work of the others here -- Matt Ferrara (vocals, guitars, keys), Keith Frerichs (acoustic guitar, drums, vocals), and Nick Oka (bass) -- that keeps the entire output of The Umbrellas coalesced around a pop ideal. It's an ideal that informs nearly every composition here, with even a slower cut, like "It's True", seemingly cribbed from something wonderful, like The Pastels or Black Tambourine.
If early single "She Buys Herself Flowers" seemed a mix of Felt, Comet Gain, and Heavenly, the more sanguine "Summer" indicates some variety in the group's C86-inspired attack. This one, and "Never Available", offer proof that The Umbrellas are hardly content with being just a jangle-pop band, and are fully capable of offering an American spin on what The Pastels did so well earlier, or a Brit indie-flavored variation of Calvin Johnson's laconic DIY aesthetic. That The Umbrellas make everything on The Umbrellas catchy and affecting is even further praise.
The Umbrellas by The Umbrellas is out on Friday via Slumberland Records.
[Photo: Slumberland Records]