Already garnering mentions in the notable likes of Spin and Rolling Stone, Austin-based trio, Ume, is shaping up to be the latest buzz band on the rock circuit. Pronounced “ooomay,” the band embodies a melodic marriage (as well as a literal one, between singer/guitarist Lauren Larson and bassist Eric Larson) of ethereal emotion and hardcore rock. After self-producing 2009’s SunShower EP, Ume has teamed-up with Modern Outsider Records to release their debut LP, Phantoms, which dropped on August 30^th.

Phantoms is aptly titled indeed, as Lauren’s ghostly voice seemingly emerges amidst the white-noise of heavy percussion and electric guitar throughout the album. The opening track, “Rubicon,” provides an energetic, danceable sound of airy vocals hovering over solid drum beats and searing riffs, which could easily conjure comparisons to Metric and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

The next song, “Burst,” rumbles open with a single bass and we are immediately introduced to the band’s stirring dynamic of moody instrumentals giving a dark edge to angelic harmonies. It exemplifies Ume’s contradictory combination of fragility and ferocity, with lyrics such as “Foolish my heart burst through the seams/to wear it out exhausts me,” being backed by deep, potent tones.

Phantoms’ lingering impression of otherworldly energy begins to swell as we reach the feedback-heavy “Run Wild” and the cacophonously-electric “Pretend Again.”

Marking a departure from both the album’s consistent raucousness and the album itself, “The Task” sees us off with breathy echoes and gentle, Midwestern acoustics. Its style is strikingly different from most of Ume’s work but is immediately reminiscent of one of the band’s recorded influences, Neutral Milk Hotel (the first 30 seconds especially bringing to mind the opening strums of NMH’s “Oh Comely”). The digression, however, is anything but out of place. After a spirited journey through their first full-length LP, Ume’s phantoms definitely deserve the rest.

As its name suggests, Phantoms will haunt you long after the last song.

– Stephanie Maida

Stephanie Maida has fruitlessly attempted to go by “Stevie” for years. She has finally accepted that she will never have a cool pen name, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing in a number of publications in both New York and London. She is currently in her third year of debt…er, journalistic studies…at New York University, where she spends her days clanking around West Village in unreasonable heels. After hyper-observing partygoers at trendy downtown bars all night, Stephanie (Stevie?) goes home to the non-hipster part of Brooklyn where she’s lived forever.