Jamrock veterans Umphrey’s McGee are set to release a new album, Zonkey, on November 11, thus bringing the band’s eight-year Halloween tradition of live mashups to the studio. The mashups cover tunes that span 40 years of music history and a plethora of genres, featuring spot-on renditions and fresh arrangements of classics by the Beastie Boys, Beck, Chicago, Eurythmics, Metallica, Michael Jackson, Talking Heads, Rage Against the Machine, The Weeknd, Ween, and many more.
Check out the spooky, elusive, crucial first track “National Loser Anthem” here.
Following in a longstanding tradition of fan-centric offerings, which includes UM Bowl, the Hall of Fame series, the Headphones & Snowcones experience, and Reel to Real, Zonkey promises to be yet another achievement in the Chicago-based sextet’s quest to bring relentless rock and peerless innovation to the jam scene. In what’s become an increasingly digital live music scene, the mashup concept not only draws on the fluid juxtapositions of the remix revolution, but also re-imagines the traditional blues medley, in that there are no samples used on the album. In the words of keyboardist Joel Cummins, “Zonkey clearly pays homage to some of our favorite artists & songs. While we’ve tried to reproduce the spirit of the original compositions & recordings, we’ve also tried to have some fun with the takes as we’ve often combined seemingly dissimilar musical elements to create a new vibe altogether.”
Fans who pre-order Zonkey on CD or digital download are eligible for a limited time to receive one of 200 signed CDs. CD pre-orders will also come with an mp3 of each track. Plus, Umphrey’s McGee has selected artists to create a limited edition pin for each song.
Visit Umphrey’s McGee’s website, FB page, and Soundcloud for tour dates, tickets, downloads, and more.
ZONKEY Track Listing
- “National Loser Anthem” “National Anthem” (Radiohead) + “Loser” (Beck) + “In The Air Tonight” (Phil Collins)
- “Life During Exodus” “Life During Wartime” (Talking Heads) + “Exodus” (Bob Marley) + “City of Tiny Lites” (Frank Zappa) + “25 or 6 to 4” (Chicago)
- “Can’t Rock My Dream Face” “Rock With You” (Michael Jackson) + “Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd) + “Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac)
- “Sad Clint Eastwood” “Sad But True” (Metallica) + “Clint Eastwood” (Gorillaz)
- “Electric Avenue To Hell” “Highway To Hell” (AC/DC) + “Electric Avenue” (Eddy Grant) + “The Triple Wide” (Umphrey’s McGee)
- “Ace Of Long Nights” “Ace of Spades” (Motörhead) + “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night” (Ween)
- “Sweet Sunglasses” “Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics) + “Sunglasses at Night” (Corey Hart) + “Electric Feel” (MGMT)
- “Strangletage” “Stranglehold” (Ted Nugent) + “Sabotage” (Beastie Boys)
- “Come As Your Kids” “Kids” (MGMT) + “Come As You Are” (Nirvana) + “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” (Dead or Alive)
- “Frankie Zombie” “Thunder Kiss ’65” (White Zombie) + “Relax” (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) + “Have a Cigar” (Pink Floyd)
- “Bulls On The Bus” “Bulls On Parade” (Rage Against the Machine) + “Mark On the Bus” (Beastie Boys)
- “Bittersweet Haj” “Hajimemashite” (Umphrey’s McGee) + “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (The Verve)
November will see the band take a southern swing, featuring a debut at the Zydeco (11/11) in Birmingham, AL and shows in Oxford, MS (11/12), Greenville, SC (11/17), before venturing north for a Saturday night show at the Highline Ballroom in New York (11/19) and a Sunday gig at Gypsy Sally’s in Washington, DC (11/20).
The opening track, “Charlemagne,” establishes the band’s signature vibe, one reminiscent of 80s disco laced with 90s indie rock, and contains fodder for the entire range expressed on the album. “At Most a Kiss” follows suit in forging a blended style of disparate influences, bridging a driving synth sound reminiscent of The Music with a melodic impulse similar to that of The Smiths. Surprisingly, the most idiosyncratic song on the album, “Onto Her Bed,” is also the best song on the album. The stripped bare piano ballad concentrates Tom Ogden’s vocal and lyrical energies within a gently rising storm of atmospheric synths. While these tracks highlight the unique sound that has brought about the quintet’s sugary emergence, an album can only be as good as its lowpoint, and, unfortunately, the bottom drops out on the depthless bubblegum tracks “Getaway,” “Honey Sweet,” and “My Favourite Room,” which work only as exercises in formula pop, but not as genuinely inspired songwriting.