Album Review: Umbrella Assassins – Humanity

Umbrella Assassins are “Shed Punk” to coin their own phrase, and this release of the album named “Humanity” is to be release out into the unsuspecting world (or worlds if you read the story behind the album) on April 10th.

So the story behind this mash up of styles and some tracks that have previously seen the light of day on EP’s, in their own words, wouldn’t want to get this wrong.

“Entitled HUMANITY it’s a concept album dealing with the adventures of Dodo Freak (Freakum Dodois) the last of his kind. Losing faith in humanity he escapes to a new planet. As years go by he wonders what has become of his old home, so he decides to look. Hurtling through the countryside in his spaceship he meets a girl, falls in love and starts a family. Through new found friends he assembles a band of humans, those lucky few. The pioneers of the twelve by ten. The creators of Shed Punk. The next phase of the journey”.

Be aware that this is a journey for the open minded, this may not suit those of an altogether ordered mind, but if strange music, sounds and the altogether non conformist way of making an album, is something that intrigues or simply compels you to listen anyway, then this is most certainly for you.  Not to say that it doesn’t have something for everyone, because it possibly does.

Kicking off with two fairly straight forward Shed Punk tracks, if there is such a thing as straight forward in this genre,  “Don’t Worry About It” & “Sweat It Out” with their dirty guitar and even dirtier vocal, an atmospheric synth can be heard in the first and the latter definitely drops some even more grungier vocal.  

Following these you now get into the more experimental or conceptual songs with the next two, although the concept part does run through the whole piece, “Afterlife” & “Dodo Freak” do seem to stand out, with all the elements put together in what feels like a non constrained way, mixing grunge with funk and synth filled psychedelia, and maybe a smattering of loud shouty bits, your left wondering do I need to go further into this album.

But then beyond the cloud, your then dropped into a completely almost normality driven plethora of songs, although yes these do vary in their style and musical influence.  Gems of quality of lyric and passion are now dotted along the path to the end of the story.  “Triangle” &  “Bored Stiff” two of the most melodic and rock filled tracks respectively, then beyond  that you get “There Is No Way” & “Honda 125” two acoustic guitar driven songs with a beautiful almost Dylan quality of rawness that it makes you glad that music always has the pleasure of surprising.

Summing up the album as a whole is simple, it doesn’t feel as though you are being taken through a story from start to finish, purely because it all feels very fractured and there are so many facets and sounds that have you wandering off the path.  In hindsight, is that actually the point?

Some beautiful gems of raw musical beauty, hidden among some harsh soundscapes.

To Buy/pre order the album check the links on the bands FACEBOOK