Ume on SPIN.com

Ume featured today at SPIN.com! They caught us at one of our CMJ shows in NYC.

Ume is the cover-story of this month's Soundcheck Magazine.

UME vs PRINCE in the Chicago Tribune :)

Check out the Chicago Tribune's preview of Chicago show at Bottom Lounge. They do a fun comparison of Lauren and Prince (one of her all-time favorite guitar players btw)!

"The rep of thrashing Texan trio Ume is beginning to spread far beyond Texas, due to the band's intense live shows and debut EP, "Sunshower." Frontwoman/guitarist Lauren Larson's dissonant, jagged guitar lines are smothered in distortion, and her guitar heroism (or heroine-ism?) is smoothed out by her powerful, melodic vocals. The band's terse, muscular backbone pulls from the artier and more progressive side of punk and indie rock -- but Larson's voice and guitar hooks give the songs a pop punch.

But in every article, review or blog blurb about Ume, the writer remarks on Larson's petite stature, good looks and ability to shred on her guitar, as if the three are some impossible trinity. Yet another person is in possession of those three qualities:Prince.

"I think the same thing. No one is ever surprised he's short and can play," says Larson, who is on the road with her band. So let's see how she stacks up to his Purpleness.

Click here for full article!

Of Montreal <3's Ume

Check out minute 4:00 on this Summer Fest interview with Bryan Poole, guitarist from Of Montreal. Thanks, Bryan! :)

We recently visited the Threadless.com warehouse in Chicago! Here's our interview on Threadless Tee-V!

Summer tour photos - including pics of MOOG, Threadless, and our show with POLVO - now on our Flickr site.

We also visited the awesome folks at WOXY.com in Cincinnati. Check out our WOXY Lounge session here.

Granada Theater May 23rd, 2009

Pictures from our Granada Theater show in Dallas with the wonderful The Octopus Project and This Will Destroy You. Photos by Bill Ellison.

Pictures by Frank Yang. Complete set from the show can be seen here.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to see us during SXSW, to all our new friends, and to all the awesome people who set up shows for us!

Below are some videos and pics from SXSW! And check out Chromewave's review of our showcase performance here!








Lauren and Dave Allen

Ume Chosen as Austin Chronicle SXSW Pick

SXSW 09 Picks 2 Click
A septet of local acts with (inter)national appeal

"The stereo is melting, waves of guitar spilling out and rising up, slowly forming towering thunderheads and streaks of gray. Lauren Larson's voice is the catalyst, a chilling reminder of the beauty in intensity. She conducts the storm, an electric maestro..." Click here for full article.

SPIN picks Ume as "Undiscovered Band Worth a Listen!"

Ume was just chosen as one of seven "undiscovered bands worth a listen" by SPIN Magazine! We will be featured tonight on SPIN's radio show broadcast out of Boston on WNFX.

Here's what SPIN had to say about the bands they picked and why they chose Ume:

"Tonight at midnight (EST), Boston radio station WFNX will broadcast the sixth installment of the SPIN/Sonicbids Emerging Artists' Showcase, featuring seven cool unsigned bands from around the world, hand-picked by SPIN.com staffers from more than 500 submissions. (Tune in to 101.7 FM in the Boston area or listen live online via wfnx.com)."

Ume

Hometown: Austin, TX

Recommended if you like: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth

Why we picked them: Snarling guitars, catchy melodies, and a sense of NYC cool -- straight from Texas!

Ume featured on CMJ.COM

We are excited to announce that Ume is featured on CMJ.com! A download is available from the site and a review.

"Straight from Austin’s fertile post-rock scene, home of genre stalwarts Trail Of Dead and Explosions In The Sky, shoegazers Ume (say that “oo-may”) sound a lot bigger than a typical rock trio. Fronted by petite Kim Gordon-esque bombshell Lauren Larson, the energetic band, teetering on a rail between poppy ’90s alt-rock and a noise-focused sonic assault, are only on their second EP. On the slow-burning bipolar jam “The Conductor” Larson’s sultry, echoing vocals—ranging from a sing-song melodic instrument to a barely audible near-whisper—are second only to the song’s bombastic instrumental pomp. Math breakdown punctuate rip-roaring guitar driven “The Means,” and the repetitive yet subtle hooks of closer “Pendulum” display Ume’s ability to manipulate the standard pop-rock sounds without becoming a cliché. They’ve found their feet on a nice middle ground—in Sunshower’s five short, exquisitely polished tracks, Ume delivers a dynamic rock aesthetic that doesn’t rest upon classic three-chord rock-n-roll haunches." - Lisa Hresko, CMJ

RCRD LBL Feature + Reviews!

Check out our recent feature on RCRD LBL here!

4.5 out of 5 stars - Sunshower EP – Mog.com.

"This EP will undoubtedly further Ume's reputation outside of the Austin music scene, and based on shows like the one they put on at the Mohawk to celebrate their CD release, this band is ready to receive all the attention they deserve" – Soundcheck Magazine (this link features pictures from our cd release show!)

"beautiful, brutal, flawlessly executed, and completely unpretentious… as close to a perfect rock record as has come out of Austin (or anywhere for the matter) in quite some time." – Austin Sound

"should set a new standard for what it means to be an intensely committed indie band" – Dryvetymeonlyne.com

"On the Sunflower EP, apparently someone forgot to tell Ume not to make a rock record. I’m glad. I would have had to burn that someone’s house to the ground... Bless you, Ume. My ears thank you." – Blogcritics.org

"The tastemaking elite may just be finding out, but those of us who saw them first always knew Ume had what it takes to go the distance." – Houston Press

Lauren Writes a String Quartet Score

Lauren and Girls Rock Camp director Emily Marks have also just finished jointly composing their first string quartet score. Their piece will be debuted by Tosca String Quartet at the Golden Hornet Project 10th Anniversary Concert at the Alamo Ritz March 1st.

Lauren's "First" Inspirations

Check out Lauren's "Firsts" on the From The Mind Of Adi Blog. This interview offers a pretty funny look at the earliest inspirations of Ume's guitarist.

Sunshower EP gets 4 STARS from Austin Chronicle!

Here's another recent review of our Free Week show at Emo's.

Loco Nunca Review

Thanks to the Loco Nunca Magazine for their review of our Fun Fun Fun Fest performance.

Fuck everyone who spent most of early Sunday afternoon nursing their hangovers. Actually, I just feel bad for them, because they missed Ume give one of the most killer sets of the weekend. If you're haven't seen Ume yet, you're kinda dumb and need to correct this as soon as possible. Amazingly, Ume has found a way to combine everything that was cool about mid-90s indie rock, but then they obliterate it in an electrical storm of fuzzy guitars and banshee shrieks. Frontwoman/guitarist Lauren Larson gets most of the band's attention, which is one of those things that everyone who's seen them just says Duh to. She's so staggeringly crush worthy: part ultra-chic Kim Gordon, part guitar goddess, and all with the precious looks of a dainty French folk singer. She propels the band's songs into beautifully cacophonic realms while keeping everything grounded in the real world with physical primacy and sex appeal. But really, bassist Eric Larson (that's her husband, fellas) and drummer Jeff Barrera deserve to be recognized as one of the tightest rhythm sections in town, or shit, anywhere else. Make note, Ume are a band to be taken very seriously.

Ume on Dave Allen’s (of Gang of Four!) Pampelmoose Blog!

Gang of Four founding member Dave Allen shared some kind words about us today on his Pampelmoose Blog! Check it out here!

"How could I have not known about Ume? An Austin trio fronted by a whirling dervish of singer guitarist who in the standard PR band head shot looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly; yet give her a guitar, a Marshall stack and a mic and stand back, way back. She shreds. They have been around since 2003, have an album out called Urgent Sea and according to their 'Space have new music coming soon. I found these guys via the Dead Confederate tour blog as it appears that the two bands were on the same bill down there in Austin, TX. File under - Do Not Overlook and Go Tell Your Friends..."

Marnie Stern and Ume Show Preview

Austin.Decider.Com on our show with the fabulous Marnie Stern and The Sour Notes.

"Marnie Stern is one of few indie-rock guitarists today with a legitimate claim to the status of "shredder." (One of the others is Austin's own Lauren Larson, who often sounds like she's calculating long division on her six-string during Ume's snarling, math-y breakdowns.)..."

Thanks!