Umami
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Umami

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Umami"

...I know they all play rhythm instruments, the syncopated bang bang slam of their Shinhoto-Chi-Ha bass-bass-drums attack is driving me crazy right now as I listen to "Honeysmack" and try to type. Crazy in a good way. The bass... the other bass... the melodic rhythm-ness of it all... shit! There's SO much of it! Must. Move. Body. Dance. Head dance. Mini-headbang. Damn I bet these guys are a kick ass live band.

Where was I? So, okay, after listening to "Honeysmack" a few times in a row, maybe they're right to say "guitars are for pansys". This band sure doesn't need no stinkin' guitars (I'd just like the record to show that I looooove "stinkin' guitars", and that's perhaps the best evidence yet of why you should pay attention when I say that this band, sans guitar, is a force to be reckoned with). Umami has found a guitar-less happy place for their music to live. An in between zone where they've combined the low end growl of Death From Above 1979 (I also hear a certain Trans Am-itude at work, and, to be frank, quite a bit of Peter Hook in the bass playing) with the understated rhythmic vocal grace of Pinback....

...those little critters sure do kick out the jams.
- Earfarm


"Umami - L Magazine"

Umami plays the kind of indie-rock you immediately think is going to be instrumental, like Don Caballero or Trans Am, but then there are vocals, all smooth and catchy, like Pinback. We like. - L Magazine


Discography

"Confront the Light" 6-song EP, July 2006.
"Mechanically Separated" 3-song EP, May 2007.

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Bio

Two bassists and a drummer? How is that supposed to work? Three Brooklynites from North Carolina briefly worried about this, but in the end friendship and chemistry seemed more important than instrumentation, and so UMAMI was born. The odd line-up has proved to be a great asset, producing a gleefully thunderous sound - a high-energy, low-end feast.

Chris Carson (drums), Brian Licari and Brian Walsh (both on bass and vocals) were all schooled in the indie rock oasis of Chapel Hill NC, and met up again after independently transplanting themselves to another thriving music scene in Brooklyn NY. Since forming UMAMI in 2006 they have played many memorable, loud, and generally sweaty shows in the Northeast. They have released two EP's, "Confront the Light" and "Mechanically Separated," and are planning a full-length recording in fall 2007.

UMAMI's guitar-less spaces allow plenty of possibilities. Depending on the song, it could be a frenzied flurry of drumbeats, or complex, intertwining bass melodies. Perhaps some heart-vibrating bass distortion. The sparse vocals are reminiscent of Pinback, but the overall sound is certainly harder and more frenetic. It blends the quirky math constructions of Don Caballero with the stripped-down power pop of Flin Flon. It calls to mind the contagiously savage electricity (and similar instrumentation) of Death From Above 1979, and the mechanical grooves of Trans Am.

Recent UMAMI songs have even ventured beyond the deep end with the addition of a Fender Rhodes. The organ was an unexpected gift from a recording engineer, a random but welcome addition to the band (all three members play it).

And the name? Will anyone ever spell it correctly? The word Umami is a Japanese term describing the "fifth taste" (after the more commonly known sensations of salty, sour, bitter and sweet). It has many definitions: savory, pungent, meaty, emotionally flavorful. The band strives to serve up music that honors the name, that is complex, forceful, satisfying.