Umphrey’s McGee is gearing up for a busy 2018, which will mark their 20th year together as a band. In honor of the forthcoming anniversary, Umphrey’s will release the previously announced album it’s not us on January 12th. While fans were excited to hear the first two tracks from the album—”The Silent Type” and “Looks”—as part of a Record Store Day Black Friday release in a few weeks, Umphrey’s fans can now listen to “The Silent Type” today, courtesy of Billboard. The new track features catchy vocals with a huge hook laid over 1980’s-era-sounding synthesizer, guitar parts, and pulsating back-beat. It is a good example of the progression of Umphrey’s McGee’s sound while remaining true to who they are as a band. If this track is an example of what’s to come on it’s not us, then fans of the band have a lot to look forward to.

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Billboard also revealed the tracklist for it’s not us and some information about the album. The album will contain eleven songs total and will seemingly reflect the diversity of the band’s influences and musical stylings, as Billboard notes that the band “masterfully incorporates a slew of different genres over 11 tracks, from blues-rock to prog-metal to acoustic balladry.”

it’s not us will contain 7 brand new, never-before-heard tracks, and 4 road-tested songs that have been performed live several times. “Remind Me” has been played 30 times since its debut back in 2015, while “Speak Up” has become a staple since its debut on 12/31/2015 and has been performed a whopping 47 times in the past two years. The demo for “Forks” was originally released as a bonus track for those who pre-ordered UM’s 2009 album Mantis; it was debuted in the live setting in 2011 and played 17 times since, and now it has been given the full studio treatment by the band on it’s not us. “Piranhas” debuted on New Year’s Eve 2014, has been played 21 times since then, and also made the cut for it’s not us.

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Brendan Bayliss told Billboard that he feels the band has “really honed in on the songwriting. . . . We’ve really focused on being more concise and trimming the fat.” He went on to explain their different approaches to a live show or a studio session, explaining that “if 1,000 people are fist pumping and don’t want the moment to stop, it’s your job to read it and ride it and keep it going, whereas the studio, it’s a completely different beast, and you’re not living in the moment. You’re actually doing the exact opposite. You’re etching something in stone.”

See below for the full tracklist for it’s not us. Read the full interview with Brendan Bayliss on Billboard and listen to the “The Silent Type” below.

 

Umphrey’s McGee’s it’s not us Track Listing:

1. “The Silent Type”
2. “Looks”
3. “Whistle Kids”
4. “Half Delayed”
5. “Maybe Someday”
6. “Remind Me”
7. “You & You Alone”
8. “Forks”
9. “Speak Up”
10. “Piranhas”
11. “Dark Brush”

[photo by  Shervin Lainez]