Even after 25 years, Umphrey’s McGee continues to surprise their listeners. The Chicago-based jam band is known for their energetic live shows filled with extensive improvisation and prog-rock stylings, but with the band’s latest album, Asking for a Friend, they’ve shown a new layer of sonic range and released a cohesive collection of songs that will reward listeners willing to treat what some would call a departure as an exploration.

“There is something to be said for making a cool, cohesive album in 2022,” said keyboardist Joel Cummins when asked about the band’s process for this album. “It’s not like the live show, where we’re really striving for improvisational moments that are moving. This is more about architecture and song construction. In a way this is a little bit riskier for us.” 

The result is a collection of new songs in the Umphrey’s McGee repertoire that rely less on heavy guitar leads and explore new harmonic textures that the band has not attempted on their earlier albums. “Once we saw where these songs were going, it was easy to figure out what to do. You want them to have some sort of connection with each other.”

The album begins with a bouncing, ska-infused rhythm to open “I Don’t Know What I Want,” a song that has already found its way into Umphrey’s live shows and features beautiful guitar harmonization in its chorus by guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger. But the tonal shift in this album is clear in its second track “Small Strides,” with its elements of dream pop and disco over a steady dub bass line by Ryan Stasik. Regarding the writing process for “Small Strides” Cummins told us, “These songs really have the benefit of two and a half years to work with them and continue to listen and come up with new ideas. I remember coming up with some stuff for that one and singing it into my phone and sending it to the band.”

Taking their time with the songs gave them room to breathe that comes through in the final product, and helped allow for new types of collaboration throughout the album. Commenting on his piano solo in “It’s Not Your Fault,” Cummins shared, “I recorded that on three different pianos and after we’d finally picked the one that was going to work I told Jake, ‘Dude, there’s some holes in here, so let’s see if we can make this more of a conversation between you and me.’” Together they produce what Cummins called “a pastoral vibe” that provides a backdrop for one of the heavier, prog-rock climaxes of the album.

The album features multiple earworms that will evoke a wide variety of genres and inspirations, and more can seemingly be found on each new listen to this collection of delightfully unusual Umphrey’s tunes. “Fenced In” offers a slick, understated groove, one that Cummins said will be fun, but tricky to play live. “The form is just so confusing. It’s got a bluesy, but groovy vibe. I have no idea what Bayliss was thinking with this one.” Meanwhile, “New Wings” could be likened to yacht rock, “Escape Goat” offers synth pop with an arena rock guitar solo to bring it home, and “Hiccups” provides break-beat rhythms that will keep fans dancing at concerts for years to come.

With Asking For a Friend now out in the world, the band will get to explore these songs from a new perspective. Most of the songs from this album haven’t yet been performed live. Cummins describes this as “the downside of having two and a half years to work on them.”

“They’re hard to play!” said Cummins. “There’s a lot going on vocally that we have to sort out.” The band will have ample time to road-test the songs from this latest release in their discography, one of their most cohesive and unique albums to date. You can catch them touring nationwide -- including the band’s first performances in Alaska -- this summer.

In the meantime, you can find Asking For a Friend on any streaming service and wherever music is sold. Joel recommends listening on headphones and big stereo systems.

To learn more about Umphrey's McGee, please see the following web resources:

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