Steve Henderson
07/26/06, 08:04 PM
Umbrellas – Illuminare
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Record Label: The Militia Group
Rating: [7.6/10]
It is always a slippery slope when a solo artist trades up to full-band status. While infinitely increasing opportunities for commercial success, there is an equal threat to any endearing indie quaintness that one-time or long-time fans oft have a tough time accepting. The prime example for this concept is the tale of (now household-name) Chris Carrabba. As a solo artist, his music was chock full of emotion, conviction, and a gorgeous simplicity that resonated with listeners on a personal level, but failed to do the same on a widespread one. Fast forward to the days of full-band Dashboard, and the music is as hollow and glossed-over as ever, but hey, the man (err...band, that is) sells hundreds of thousands of records. So why shouldn't everyone make the same progression (or is it regression)?
Luckily for Scott Windsor, when he abandoned the moniker of Lyndsay Diaries to go full-band with Umbrellas, he had a firm grasp of how he wanted to do it. Instead of simply doing it to render his tunes more commercially viable, Windsor has maintained the most appealing aspects of his former self's music, adding texture and thickness to his already well-evolved, but admittedly humble, skinny songs.
When in previous years, he sculpted songs like “The Consequences of Learning to Fly” and “The City Lights” the secret was pretty much out that Windsor could write brilliant, perhaps even perfect, songs. Illuminare picks up that thread and sets it to loom right away, with the beautiful opener, “Boston White.” An extremely auspicious water mark for the rest of the record, layering Windsor’s trademark fragile vocals over slick guitar effects, “Boston White” sets a soaring standard. However, even this is a bar quite deftly high-jumped by the phenomenal “Again and Again.” Taking a cue from their Brandtson buddies, Scott and the gang toss in a sprinkle of brilliantly restrained electronic underlines beneath once-more seductive, breathy vocals . While the cut is strong as it glides along in time, the track hits an exclamatory climax later on with a sick electro-breakdown peppered with subtle handclaps used oh-so-perfectly here. All of it ends up being so attentively stitched together to make for one of the best songs of 2006.
After the second track, though, Umbrellas turns down the energy and shucks off the confidence in lieu of the more fragile, glassy sound that we expect from Windsor. When exposed to this flipside, one thing becomes increasingly evident. Scott Windsor has been listening to a lot of Death Cab as of late. Esssentially posturing himself as a less likely, but equally unassuming Ben Gibbard, Windsor borrows greedily from “Expo 86” on “Crooked,” and quicksand-sinks into a less appealing set of follow-up tracks thereafter. “Angel and Demon” establishes a playful, almost Smiths-like tune, but in turn, Windsor’s high-tinged croon fails to match the carefree instrumental backdrop. Likewise, “Thinking of You” is a similarly disconnected song, but almost transparently so, as I am not sure anything could mate itself with that oddball chorus (imagine people orgasm-ing to music). This trend continues throughout most of the record’s remainder, as the album loses its bombast and scope, as it seems that Illuminare stops trying to impress its audience, almost content to be relegated to background music status. This recession is broken by the once-more beautiful “Ships,” that conjures up a “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” vibe, but is essentially too little too late to elevate the album to a greater platform standing.
With the final chapter of Illuminare written, the album stands as a solid reminder of Windsor’s surgical songwriting abilities, but too many laurels appear to be rested upon here. The tracks eventually come across as effortlessly constructed, but also, appear to put forth relatively minimal effort to actively engage the listener (with a few exceptions). If you consider Illuminare follows Umbrellas by only a year and a half, this is not surprising, and almost revealing into the process here. Nevertheless, fans of thoughtful, sensitive, and elegant indie rock will do well to check out Illuminare.
Aaron Sprinkle, Fair, Death Cab for Cutie, Lyndsay Diaries, Lovedrug, This Day and Age, Copeland
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Record Label: The Militia Group
Rating: [7.6/10]
It is always a slippery slope when a solo artist trades up to full-band status. While infinitely increasing opportunities for commercial success, there is an equal threat to any endearing indie quaintness that one-time or long-time fans oft have a tough time accepting. The prime example for this concept is the tale of (now household-name) Chris Carrabba. As a solo artist, his music was chock full of emotion, conviction, and a gorgeous simplicity that resonated with listeners on a personal level, but failed to do the same on a widespread one. Fast forward to the days of full-band Dashboard, and the music is as hollow and glossed-over as ever, but hey, the man (err...band, that is) sells hundreds of thousands of records. So why shouldn't everyone make the same progression (or is it regression)?
Luckily for Scott Windsor, when he abandoned the moniker of Lyndsay Diaries to go full-band with Umbrellas, he had a firm grasp of how he wanted to do it. Instead of simply doing it to render his tunes more commercially viable, Windsor has maintained the most appealing aspects of his former self's music, adding texture and thickness to his already well-evolved, but admittedly humble, skinny songs.
When in previous years, he sculpted songs like “The Consequences of Learning to Fly” and “The City Lights” the secret was pretty much out that Windsor could write brilliant, perhaps even perfect, songs. Illuminare picks up that thread and sets it to loom right away, with the beautiful opener, “Boston White.” An extremely auspicious water mark for the rest of the record, layering Windsor’s trademark fragile vocals over slick guitar effects, “Boston White” sets a soaring standard. However, even this is a bar quite deftly high-jumped by the phenomenal “Again and Again.” Taking a cue from their Brandtson buddies, Scott and the gang toss in a sprinkle of brilliantly restrained electronic underlines beneath once-more seductive, breathy vocals . While the cut is strong as it glides along in time, the track hits an exclamatory climax later on with a sick electro-breakdown peppered with subtle handclaps used oh-so-perfectly here. All of it ends up being so attentively stitched together to make for one of the best songs of 2006.
After the second track, though, Umbrellas turns down the energy and shucks off the confidence in lieu of the more fragile, glassy sound that we expect from Windsor. When exposed to this flipside, one thing becomes increasingly evident. Scott Windsor has been listening to a lot of Death Cab as of late. Esssentially posturing himself as a less likely, but equally unassuming Ben Gibbard, Windsor borrows greedily from “Expo 86” on “Crooked,” and quicksand-sinks into a less appealing set of follow-up tracks thereafter. “Angel and Demon” establishes a playful, almost Smiths-like tune, but in turn, Windsor’s high-tinged croon fails to match the carefree instrumental backdrop. Likewise, “Thinking of You” is a similarly disconnected song, but almost transparently so, as I am not sure anything could mate itself with that oddball chorus (imagine people orgasm-ing to music). This trend continues throughout most of the record’s remainder, as the album loses its bombast and scope, as it seems that Illuminare stops trying to impress its audience, almost content to be relegated to background music status. This recession is broken by the once-more beautiful “Ships,” that conjures up a “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” vibe, but is essentially too little too late to elevate the album to a greater platform standing.
With the final chapter of Illuminare written, the album stands as a solid reminder of Windsor’s surgical songwriting abilities, but too many laurels appear to be rested upon here. The tracks eventually come across as effortlessly constructed, but also, appear to put forth relatively minimal effort to actively engage the listener (with a few exceptions). If you consider Illuminare follows Umbrellas by only a year and a half, this is not surprising, and almost revealing into the process here. Nevertheless, fans of thoughtful, sensitive, and elegant indie rock will do well to check out Illuminare.
Aaron Sprinkle, Fair, Death Cab for Cutie, Lyndsay Diaries, Lovedrug, This Day and Age, Copeland