UMAMI - "Living In A Nightmare"

With The Weekend Showcase, we like to feature indie bands from around the world, in particular those making some creative music. On the April 17th Edition of The Weekend Showcase, we’ve included Minneapolis quintet UMAMI, who are pushing the boundaries on a genre that has increasingly come to the forefront in indie music.

With a new album out that is self-described as “psych-synth”, Ephemeral is a stirring, terrific compilation of ten tracks, highlighted by “Living In a Nightmare”. The single buzzes with an electronic bass line before spiraling into a dark, psychedelic trip. The single is reminiscent of the stellar sounds of the underrated PYYRAMIDS.

The rest of the album is similarly bone-chilling and head noodling. Other favorites include the hypnotic title track “Ephemeral”; “Tim’s Drugs”, which has a Portugal. The Man feel; the anthemic opening song “The Row”; and the cool, haunting “Bangles“, which you can hear below.

The album took three years to make. For Angelo Pennacchio (vocals), Peter Blomgren (guitar), Charlie Smith (synths/production), Tim Bass (bass), and Andrew Finseth (drums/percussion), it wasn’t just a personal journey – the album is a mini-autobiography of their lives. The music provides the medium and the environment to depict their emotions of that certain point in time. As such, Ephemeral is more than just an album to listen to; it’s one to experience.

Pick up Ephemeral on iTunes. If you would like to stream the entire album, head on over to PopMatters. This album is definitely worth a listen and then some.