UMBRELLAS’ ILLUMINARE
(Latin; meaning to light the way or illustrate.)
When Scott Windsor and the timeless yet refreshing band Umbrellas released their debut self-titled record in 2005, they may not have guessed that one year later, they’d find themselves livening-up a drab, abandoned comedy club—recording songs on giant stages and in refrigerators for their follow-up, Illuminare. Umbrellas’ sophomore Militia Group release was recorded in two solid weeks of near fifteen-hour recording sessions, where Scott and his band’s musings were tested and brought to life.
When Umbrellas’ debut hit the shelves, it was recognized as a dynamic, eager offering. The band toured heavily and new ideas began swimming inside Windsor’s head. Those ideas formed icebergs—and the only option was to dismantle and re-conduct the near-avalanche of visions, abstractions, melodies and structures. The debut, birthed in decidedly artistic, collaborative ways, proved to be an even more cautious outing compared to Illuminare.
Hanging blankets across the empty, dusty and evocative shell of an old comedy club, Scott and his Umbrellas started tracking their new record Illuminare. They went forth in unsafe, less-than secure scenarios with nearby ‘06 tornados in Oklahoma. Scott recalls: “The old comedy club had an odd feel to it. Grossly low-lit, strange hallways, off-color backrooms good for nothing—right there in the middle of downtown Tulsa—dodging tornados in the midst of recording. We constantly heard sirens going off, went outside to piss-green skies, sideways rain and I thought to myself ‘maybe they’ll find these recordings someday after we were all carried off.’ One of the band members’ car was stolen during the recording process by homeless people who stole it just to impress their friends. The van got broken into- we had a stolen hard drive. But bad luck could not stop this record.”
James McAlister (Ester Drang, Sufjan Stevens) played the drums, percussion, programming, and added lively, innovative ideas like sampling Scott’s voice as the keyboard parts for the song “Again and Again.” On the song, Scott sings: “Where’s the piano? The big, big bass drum?” Well, in that song, the piano’s right there in his vocal chords—which were adamantly, angelically bared just as they are on Illuminare. “Most of these songs only had one take on vocals—80% of the record. Every record nowadays, it seems you can find some pretty blonde, put auto-tune on it and just go with it.” Scott modestly adds: “I’m not the best singer but at least when you see us live, what you see is what you get and I’m not lying to fans.” And it seems that’s what the general mood and stance of this record: reality, and a sense for the organic, raw, forgotten sentiments. In the song “Tests on My Heart, Windsor sings of ‘getting over the self,’ recording in the aforementioned refrigerator with cold vocal-shadows and a Vaudevillian piano interlude. Illuminare grapples with notions of solitude, life, death, and the plain old blues. Scott sings of realistic love, infatuation, satisfaction, disappointment, life-balance, the letting-go, appeasement, idealism, and grace—all with a backdrop of blustery fall-out tunes with strange swirls of sound, smatterings of echoes and pulsings, huge bass hammerings and bells to chime the gladness in being right there where one’s supposed to be. Weathering the storms, and taking on the shadows and memories of calmer times and warmer rooms.
The players: Chad Copelin (producer, keys, guitar, bass), Nathan Price (drums, percussion), Eric Arndt (bass), Scott Windsor (vocals, guitars, percussion) James McAlister (drums, percussion, programming), Ryan Lindsey (piano, background vocals)
Scott 09 Sep 2006
Taken from their Website:
www.umbrellasmusic.com
Reactionary
Umbrellas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From where you spilled the red wine
I almost remember it was over there by the piano
Now you're forcing the liquor down your throat
It's not pleasant but hey, we need to forget
'cause you tried so hard to get inside her head
The secret is out, you were weak all along
I hear the laughter in the next room
It's as if they don't want to be found out
How do I keep going?
How do I sleep at night?
It's like happiness, it's a goal we chase,
We obtain, and then it slips through our finger tips
The mistakes we made we learn from them
Or we learn how to make them again
I want to look in from the outside
I'd make my own rules
I'd stand on something other than this sphere
It would be more like a box
Full of second chances
The lyrics to Umbrellas' song "Reactionary" depict a scene of despair and regret. The singer describes a stain on someone's shirt from spilt red wine, suggesting a recent party, perhaps with a loved one. The other person is forcing liquor down their throat, trying desperately to forget something that has clearly upset them. As the singer listens to laughter from the next room, they reflect on how we all chase happiness like a goal, only to have it slip through our fingers. The mistakes we make in life are either learned from or made again, but the singer longs to break free from this cycle and make their own rules. They imagine standing on something other than the unstable "sphere" of life, perhaps in a box full of second chances.
The lyrics are poignant and relatable, describing the pain of betrayal and the desire to escape life's challenges. The repetition of the phrase "How do I" emphasizes the singer's frustrated and confused state of mind. The theme of chasing happiness and finding it elusive is a common one in music, but the unique imagery of standing on a box full of second chances provides a hopeful twist to the song's melancholic tone.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a stain on your shirt
Your shirt has a mark or spot from where the red wine that you spilled has stained it
From where you spilled the red wine
The red wine is the reason why there is now a stain on your shirt
I almost remember it was over there by the piano
I recall that you spilled the red wine around that area by the piano
Now you're forcing the liquor down your throat
You're drinking alcohol very quickly and with difficulty, as if you're trying to forget something unpleasant
It's not pleasant but hey, we need to forget
Although it's unpleasant, we need to drink to forget the unpleasant event that occurred
'cause you tried so hard to get inside her head
You made a considerable effort to understand what the other person was thinking
The secret is out, you were weak all along
Your secret is now public knowledge, which reveals that you were always vulnerable
I hear the laughter in the next room
I can hear people laughing loudly in the room next to us
My thoughts scatter
My ideas and notions become scattered and disjointed
It's as if they don't want to be found out
My ideas seem to elude me, as if they are avoiding being discovered or exposed
How do I keep going?
I am trying to figure out how to persist or carry on in spite of the circumstances
How do I sleep at night?
I am struggling with my conscience and how to rest peacefully, considering what happened
It's like happiness, it's a goal we chase,
Happiness is something that we all strive for, but it's something that we can't always attain
We obtain, and then it slips through our finger tips
We may achieve happiness, but it can vanish suddenly or easily, just like when something slips through your fingers
The mistakes we made we learn from them
We learn from our errors and our failures so that we won't repeat them in the future
Or we learn how to make them again
Alternatively, we might learn how to commit the same mistakes or flaws once more
I want to look in from the outside
I desire to view and observe things from an external or detached standpoint
I'd make my own rules
I'd create and implement my own laws, principles, and regulations
I'd stand on something other than this sphere
I desire to stand on something different than what we all know, something abstract, or symbolic, metaphorically speaking
It would be more like a box
This new standpoint or perspective would be more like a construct, an invention, or a structure
Full of second chances
This new perspective would be filled with hope and new opportunities, like a box full of chances to start again
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juan Cruz Pron
La canción es muy linda, transmite muchas sensaciones, es una pena que nadie la conozca