Umarells
Manchester four-piece Umarells release their debut 7" single “You’re Not Here / Closer” on 3rd November 2023 via Fear of Missing Out Records.
Despite members of Umarells being old friends from school, university flatmates and even colleagues at an Indian restaurant for years - it was a spontaneous trip to the seaside town of Blackpool that re-ignited the musical flame within these four friends.
Their humble beginnings hark back to Josh Yeung (Vocals / Guitar) and Imogen Badrock (Vocals / Synth) getting home from working at the Indian restaurant and making demo’s into the wee hours. “We made a dumb song about a type of lemonade that was sold at the restaurant we worked at.” Josh explains. “It went quite well for a piss-take so thought we should try writing music properly”
After a couple of years where life (& covid) got in the way, it was only after a fateful night on the Blackpool strip that they decided to finish some of the sketches they’d put together. They brought in Imogen’s old flatmate Ryan Marsden on bass and Josh’s old school friend Sarah Knowles on drums. The resulting sound is an amalgamation of their combined influences - the blissed out shoegaze of Beach House; the hushed vocal deliveries of Crumb and the analogue warmth of Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Debut single "You're Not Here" muses walking away from the trappings of an unhealthy relationship: “‘You’re not here’ is a bit of a liberation song.” Imogen explains. “I wrote this when I felt free of a relationship and able to do as I please without being told I couldn’t. As the song builds at the end it’s a cathartic release of the past, a bit of an ode to a siren.”
Umarells take their name from the Italian word for retired men who watch construction sites - offering unwelcome advice to the workers. However, with their dulcet introspections and arms-wide-open sound, these four friends are a very welcome new sound indeed.
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