Description

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.

It?s a record overflowing with highlights. The candyfloss 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, and the precision that comes from long months on the road.

The Umbrellas coalesced around a group of musicians who would frequent legendary San Francisco record emporium Amoeba Music. Singer and guitarist Matt Ferrera links with bassist Nick Oka, while Keith Frerichs is the powerhouse drummer. 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. Yet the experience of touring bonded them tightly and allowed the volume to tick up a little higher, and higher, and higher. ?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, working across a four-month period. Sessions were a little more relaxed in terms of timescale than their debut, but The Umbrellas were incredibly focussed on the project. ?We gave ourselves more space for this album,? says Keith. ?We wanted time to sit on the songs, and really work on them.?

Allowing their live dynamic to bleed out 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 ultra-fast 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 indie pop 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.

Description

Located on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Gullivers is an iconic, lively and bustling bar with a long history dating all the way back to 1865.
Gullivers has had many different guises over the years. It was originally a Wilson’s house called The Albert Hotel, then The Grenadier before J.W. Lees brewery bought the pub in the 1970s. They renamed it Gullivers and it has existed in its current form to this day.
But there’s much more to Gullivers than just the busy bar; it also houses two distinct yet complementary live music and performance spaces; the upstairs Ballroom – a 100 capacity gig venue with a raised stage and the downstairs Lounge – an intimate, 40 capacity space ideal for acoustic or low-key performances.
As well as working with established and longstanding promoters from Manchester and beyond, Gullivers prides itself on being a welcoming, supportive space and a creative hub for the city’s grassroots artistic communities; with many now successful bands, artists, performers and promoters cutting their teeth within its walls.
This rare combination of space, location and ethos allows Gullivers to boast a busy calendar of live music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, film screenings, exhibitions and much more on almost every night of the week.

109 Oldham Street,

Manchester,

Greater Manchester,

England,

M4 1LW.

0161 839 4064