The older and shittier I get, the less time I have to waste making something out of nothing. I’m a firm believer in Sturgeon’s Law, which is the one that says 90% of everything everywhere is pretty much bullshit. On music blogs, the percentage is probably higher. But the sole purpose of Antiquiet is to shine a light on the other stuff. There are a few bands out there that are actually better than the hype, and Austin’s Ume is one of them.
Pronounced ooh-may, for the record, Ume handily makes that cut. When the band came through LA in April on their current tour, we invited them into our studio at Swing House in Hollywood for an exclusive Antiquiet Session. The point of our sessions is to host our favorite bands as they indisputably prove their non-bullshit status: What you see is what you’re hearing. No B-roll. No overdubs. No artsy fartsy stage effects we couldn’t afford anyway. Here’s Ume, setting the bar, for Antiquiet Session #16.
Seeing Lauren Larson do her thing sells it better than my words ever will. She executes her guitar leads surgically while thrashing around and growling like a deranged rugrat, and as long as bands like Ume exist, I’m going to scoff every single time some publicist tells me about some mope-core band that’s “killing it.”
In case you missed it, Ume played our SXSW showcase this year, and there’s some video from their set here. Their new album Monuments is out now, and the band is out on tour. Click here for all the tour dates.
