Album Review: Umphrey’s McGee “Similar Skin”

June 10th marks the release of a fresh new disc of music from the prog rock band from Chicago, Umphrey’s McGee.  The first release since their 2011 “Death By Stereo” release which had a few stand out tracks like “Miami Virtue”, “Wellwishers” and “Booth Love.”  That album was, all in all, a UM-light version of the band who tends to bring a full rockin’ version of itself in a live setting.  So what to expect from Similar Skin?

This time around, for their seventh studio album, UM has not only brought the ball, they brought the court too, recording the album in it’s entirety under their recently founded “Nothing Too Fancy” independent record label.  For Similar Skin, Umphrey’s McGee delves deep into the annals of musical (and personal) history and pulls from many different genres to assemble an album peppered with hard rock, prog pop, metal, Gothic rock and Seattle grunge.

So, without further ado, let’s take a track by track walk though the Similar Skin album.

1.  The Linear:  Coming out of the gate with a mid-temp rock song highlighted by a Ryan Stasik bass riff and a hard break…signature Umphrey’s McGee.  The Linear delivers a lyric message about life and living in the moment and sends you off with a short heavy rockin’ ending.  Perhaps a foreshadow of how this tune will develop in a live setting.

2.  Cut The Cable:  An acoustic tease intro is quickly dropped for the heavy electric rock rest of the song.  Melodically and lyrically, Cut the Cable takes a much darker approach and clearly pays homage to the more heavy metal parts of UM’s personality.

3.  Hourglass:  Flashback circa mid-90’s pop-rock to a constant bass/drum beat, clean hook and a, not so well placed, guitar solo and you’ve got Hourglass.

4.  No Diablo:  Bouncy, light and a stark contrast to everything you’ve heard thus far on Similar Skin, No Diablo will get your butt moving in your seat (or feet moving on the floor depending on your listening position).  Think Squeeze mid-80’s.  Prog Pop at it’s finest.

5.  Similar Skin:  The title track.  Tucked midway through the album (yes, I still refer to them as albums), Similar Skin is a rock anthem with a dominant drum beat, heavy reverb vocals and stark tempo contrasts…with a touch of signature UM sound.

6.  Puppet String:  Bayliss uses Puppet String as a chance to get philosophical with his words.  Addressing questions of life, God and personality.  A subdued melody behind his words are punctuated by a hard break accented by his “What the Hell do I know” lyric change, questioning the position he’s expressed in the verse.  Musically and lyrically thought provoking.

7.  Little Gift:  All I can think is KISS.  Little Gift is short and sweet…well maybe not sweet, with it’s hard pounding homage to late 70’s hard rock, ala KISS and the like.  If you like that style, you’ll be disappointed it’s only 3:15, if you don’t, you’ll be relieved it’s only 3:15.

8.  Educated Guess:  Slipping back into the warm UM blanket of mid-80’s prog rock style, Educated guess will take you on a musical journey through ground rooted bass breaks into ethereal jams followed by roller coaster guitar riffs, all the while reminding you to fear not, you’re safely strapped in…please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.

9.  Loose Ends:  Musically paying tribute to the Seattle sound of the 90’s a la Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Loose Ends continues on a theme of retrospection/introspection/reflection both in music and lyrics.

10.  Hindsight: The angrier, heavier, UM rears it’s pounding fist again with Hindsight.  If you dig the hard driving dramatic sounds of Black Sabbath…well, there you go, Hindsight is right in your wheelhouse.

11.  Bridgeless:  Wrapping up the 11 song musical tour, Bridgeless is nearly a recap of what you’ve heard all album.  Bouncing between musical styles with hard breaks between.  It’s as if they’ve put an “in case you missed it, here’s what the whole album sounded like” track at the end to remind you.  An exclamation point, rather than a period, at the end of a Umphrey’s McGee musical story.  This is what I hear when I reflect on what UM sounds like LIVE.

All in all, I can press play at The Linear and not press “skip” until I get the the end of Bridgeless.  Bayliss and company will take you on a musical and lyrical journey that will not only get you moving in your seat but will cause you to get a glimpse into their personal psyche.  More philosophers than story tellers for Similar Skin, they’ve clearly looked back, given it some deep thought and are moving forward.  The future’s so bright for UM, they better buy some good shades.