SF Janglepop Heroes The Umbrellas Promising Something New for Upcoming Album
Photo Credit: Kay Redden
When discussing their upcoming new album, the members of San Francisco janglepop mainstays The Umbrellas all impressed that the sound will be “different.”
Just how far they stray from the Paisley Underground-indebted aesthetic they mastered for their first two albums remains to be seen, though.
Hyper-pop? Southern gothic? Full shoegaze? Screamo?
All those genres were briefly and cheekily mentioned by the band—a winking nod to the fact that “different” doesn’t mean “absolutely batshit crazy different.” And really, it turns out that the most significant distinction in the new approach might just be patience (sorry for those waiting for a 100 Gecs meets Johnny Cash mashup.)
“I think the main difference for this album is that we’re trying to be much more intentional with each song,” said drummer and guitarist Keith Frerichs. “We’re sitting a little while longer with each track. I think the songs reflect that more focused approach.”
The first two Umbrellas were peerless documents of indie-pop perfection—confectionary for the ears. Approximating the earnestness and approachability of bands from the Sarah Records label with the keen pop sensibilities of acts like Strawberry Switchblade and the jangly off-kilter nature of groups such as Aztec Camera, the records were a uniquely ideal distillation of 80s independent music.
Although an integral part of the San Francisco music scene, the band—comprised of guitarists/vocalists Morgan Stanley and Matt Ferrara and bassist Nick Oka, in addition to Frerichs—record and produce all their music, insisting on working within their core group. Right now, they have about 30 minutes of material for their upcoming album, which they are recording in Ferrera’s Richmond District home (material which just narrowly avoided being destroyed earlier this year when a major fire tore through the building next door.)
While their first two records—2021’s self-titled debut and 2024’s “Fairweather Friend”—share many similarities, there are also telling differences in the two releases. The band’s inaugural effort was a gloriously low-stakes release, a loveable lo-fi collection of twee-pop gems, whereas the follow-up showcased a more polished and confident group, capable of putting out bigger hooks and catchier choruses.
According to Ferrara, that evolution was just the natural progression of a band getting to know each other and maturing as musicians.
“That first album was pretty shambolic, because we had never really recorded together,” said Ferrara. “I had never recorded a pop band before. Morgan was never in a band before. The rest of us were all in weird punk bands before this. Of course, it was going to take us some time to figure things out.”
But with more experience and familiarity—the band has now been together for eight years—they are more interested in pushing the bounds of what defines an Umbrellas album. The current recording sessions for LP3—tentatively set to be released next year—offer a tantalizing look into what that might mean.
The new demos include mandolin, standup bass, trumpet and accordion—instruments that would have no home in the Umbrellas first two albums. Ferrera said he’s been taking vocal lessons (from local musician Anna Hillburg) and the band hinted that the arrangements for the new tracks are more layered and less controlled, drifting away from the pop classicism that defined their earlier work.
“These songs are definitely less structured—there’s not as much AB, AB, AC stuff—that verse-chorus-verse thing,” said Stanley. “We have more interesting instrumental bridges and are really trying to be a little less conventional.”
The Umbrellas will offer up a glimpse of that new sound on Thursday, when the band plays on the rooftop of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, a local showcase staged by (((folkYEAH!))). They’ll be joined by Oakland post-punkers Fake Fruit and San Francisco indie rockers Now, in a performance that highlights the impressive depth and breadth of the Bay Area music collective.
Umbrellas are now carefully plotting out their next moves, keen to take time with the new album. Like most San Francisco musicians, the members of Umbrellas all juggle multiple band roles—Stanley plays in the Telephone Numbers, Ferrara in Magic Fig and Oka and Frerichs in the Government—so timing and scheduling is always a challenge.
Regardless, the Umbrellas will not be making a mad dash to put out the third record, a lesson in forbearance they’ve learned to increasingly appreciate during their tenure.
“There was a tendency in the past to rush things—we always really wanted to get something new out, because there was this fear that people would forget us,” said Stanley. “But we’re all so comfortable in our lives right now that there's just not that pressure to release something until we’re ready.”
“We want to put out a great record,” said Ferrara. “That’s going to require a little time. But we want to make sure it’s the best we can do.”
Show Details:
The Umbrellas with Fake Fruit and Now
Where: SF MoMA
When: 5:30 p.m., Thursday, September 18
Tickets: $35 ($15 for MoMA members), available here.