The Umbrellas - Fairweather Friend (Wine Red Vinyl)

The Bay Area jangle pop revival is at a fever pitch. While the influx of tech companies pushed out many of the key players in San Francisco’s 2010s garage boom, they were gradually replaced by a wave of outsiders reimagining the heyday of acts including The Clean and The Bats for the Internet age. Billed on their Bandcamp as “pure music for sad people,” The Umbrellas are key players in this regional boom. After releasing their debut in 2021, the four piece suddenly found themselves on tour with the likes of Fucked Up. The band’s second album, Fairweather Friend, once again arrives via appropriately sparkly label home Slumberland Records. Expanding on The Umbrellas’ breezy, yet glum formula, traded vocals reminiscent of forebears Veronica Falls coast over pounding drum grooves peppered with retro keyboards and spunky electric guitars. Put simply: wonderfully scuzzy West Coast DIY rock. - Ted Davis