Who? Oklahoma-based multi-instrumentalist Scott Windsor is the big brain behind Umbrellas. Illuminaire, the second full-length released under that name, includes contributions from Ester Drang’s James McAlister and Starlight Mints sideman Ryan Lindsey. Windsor previously recorded as the Lyndsay Diaries.
What’s the Deal? Illuminaire falls softly between Dashboard Confessional’s Trapper Keeper paeans and the Postal Service’s delicate synth pop. The latter is best embodied by “Again and Again,” whose bubbling chorus has a bit of Pet Shop Boys kitsch to it, but “Idle and Waiting” leans on a countrified riff that recalls We Have the Facts-era Death Cab for Cutie. “Tests on My Heart” is a bit more campfire-style, a plaintive acoustic ditty tailor-made for late-night summer parking.
Fun Fact: Windsor tells us he’s hidden some secrets in the track “Thinking of You.” “You will find a subliminal ‘rock’n’roll’ message in the background vocal chants if you listen close enough,” he says. PETER GASTON
Now Hear This: Umbrellas – “Crooked” (Download MP3)
Talk: Would you spend a rainy summer evening under these Umbrellas? COMMENT
On the Web: umbrellasmusic.com
