The Umbrellas – ‘Fairweather Friend’ review: Endearing and authentic indie pop
THE SKINNY: Hitting play on The Umbrellas’ Fairweather Friend has a similar effect to putting on a pair of rose-tinted glasses. Though their intimate lyrics traverse everything from pseudo-political relationships to abandoned dreams, their sound is immovably idealistic. Tambourines clash with jangly guitars and harmonised vocals to fuse a romantic indie pop sound capable of inducing nostalgia in those who weren’t even born in the 1980s and 1990s.
“All of us love really earnest pop songs,” bassist Nick Oka states of the project, “I guess we got to a point in our lives where we wanted to be genuine.” It’s this authenticity that saves The Umbrellas from the toothache that their sugary sound is at risk of causing. The band’s love for pop sensibilities and commitment to honesty bleeds into their layered compositions, but perhaps nowhere more than in the vocalists’ contributions.
The lyrics Matt Ferrera and Morgan Stanley deliver are by no means complex works of poeticism, but it’s in their simplicity that they find their merit. As they sing and sigh together, it’s difficult not to believe their every word to be true. Their alternating voices also serve to break up the jangling soundscapes and twinkling tambourines.
Though Fairweather Friend endears in its gorgeous, melodic compositions and sweet simplicities, it suffers from its over-reliance on these elements at times. As the record reaches the end of its runtime, it’s difficult to differentiate one song from the next or even to differentiate The Umbrellas from some of their predecessors. Nonetheless, Fairweather Friend is a work of whimsy well worth a listen.
For fans of: people-watching, letting it linger, eagerly giving it your all at karaoke
A concluding comment from Tom’s mother: “So sweet I became worried about contracting diabetes.”
Fairweather Friend track by track:
Release date: 26 January | Producer: The Umbrellas | Label: Tough Love / Slumberland
‘Three Cheers’: After opening with thumping drums and a killer bassline, ‘Three Cheers’ quickly plunges into the idealistic indie pop sound that defines the entire record that follows. Jangly guitars, triumphant tambourines and a vocalist duo provide a glimpse at what’s to come. [3.5/5]
‘Goodbye’: The Umbrellas continue on the trajectory of nostalgia-inducing sugary indie pop, with Morgan Stanley’s tentative wonderings about love coming to the forefront. “Looked into each other’s eyes with a sigh,” she sang, and it almost emulated how the song sounded. [3/5]
‘Toe The Line’: Accelerating the pace and intensity of their sound to match the racing and stalling heart Matt Ferrera uses as a muse, ‘Toe The Line’ finds The Umbrellas infusing their tambourines and guitars with newfound frantic energy. [3.5/5]
‘Echoes’: A return to whimsy, ‘Echoes’ is a twinkling soundscape that seems to take inspiration from The Sundays. Its idealistic instrumentation is juxtaposed with its subject: “Watch your dreams become an echo down the hall,” Stanley repeats. [3.5/5]
‘Say What You Mean’: As we reach the mid-way point of Fairweather Friend, their romanticism runs the risk of veering from endearing to grating. It manages to escape that fate through violas and the vocalists’ continued commitment to aching authenticity, true to the song’s title. [3/5]
‘Games’: The shortest dose of sugary indie pop on the record, ‘Games’ clocks in at just two minutes. Dipping in and out of Stanley’s romantic shrugs and rocking guitar solos, it’s all the better for it. [3.5/5]
‘Gone’: The charm of jangly romanticism is almost beginning to wear off by the time ‘Gone’ comes around. Perhaps if it wasn’t surrounded by so much unrelenting sweetness and sentimentality, it would fare slightly better. [2.5/5]
‘When You Find Out’: A fun and cute indie pop track that would fit seamlessly into any playlist of 1980s or 1990s jangly guitar music, but perhaps too seamlessly, going unnoticed up against genre greats. [3/5]
‘Blue’: ‘Blue’ revitalises The Umbrellas’ increasingly familiar sound as Ferrera takes the forefront, his vocals less shrouded by layers of tambourines and violas, accompanied only by bright twangy guitars. [3/5]
‘PM’: The Umbrellas round out the album as you might expect, with another rosy romantic take on indie pop, albeit a lovely one. [3/5]
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