Just don't expect business as usual. If you're ready for some inspired melodic, poetic alt-rock, these guys are your new best friends. Lead singer/guitarist Jeremy Michaelis, brother Dennis (keyboards/guitar), drummer Jason Rosewell, and bassist Kevin Swartwood each brought their own musical tastes to the table and out of those concocted the surprising sonic stew that is Red Umbrella. They zig when you saw a zag coming. But it's not a trick; these guys don't need 'em. Simply produced, to stunning effect, they crafted thirteen intelligent (though sometimes mysterious) catchy songs. And did I mention, they rock?
"Storm Warning" takes you by surprise, with its Beatlesque melodies and Jeremy Michaelis' loopy vocals, but these kinds of surprises are rare in the genre so it's nothing but good. The friendly feel of the lyrics and the rock changes belie Michaelis' slightly odd tone, and by the time you hit the dreamy bridge, you're completely won over. It doesn't take long to fall for these ingenious rockers. The retro sound of second track "Straight Jacket" hits hard, shades of the B-52s, and it's all good. Followed by standout "Already Won," rife with Biblical references that are powerfully meaningful but subtle enough to attract non-believers: "I've been in the middle of a brilliant plan...... Here's to the courage of a perfect man." Red Umbrella excels at the understated but perfectly expressed truth.
Dreamy rocker "What About Me?" is another favorite, examining the life of inertia before concluding "And remember God is watching us and everything we do." While a few lyrics are stealthy enough to, I admit it, go over my head, others do show the band's willingness to reveal even themselves. "Broken Hearts" shares: "They say that home is where the heart is/ But what about me?/ I've been handing out pieces since I was three." Don't miss the brilliant and slyly worshipful "Elevator," a piano-driven mid-tempo song that reeks of John Lennon, in the very best way. All in all, Red Umbrella has given us one of the year's freshest albums, proving that Christians can indeed contend in the marketplace if they are willing use their creativity and ingenuity to break out of the molds never meant to contain them. Red Umbrella, thanks for the tip!
