Umphrey’s McGee will release their 14th studio album, Asking For A Friend, on July 1 via the band’s Nothing Too Fancy Music imprint. Out today is the new single, “Small Strides,” the second track on the upcoming LP.
Asking For A Friend was recorded over the past few years at sessions held in Nashville, Chicago and Niles, Michigan. The nine-track follow-up to 2021’s all-instrumental You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall & Left A Raging Bull album includes a number of songs written while bandmembers were locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previously released single “I Don’t Know What I Want” is the lone tune from the record the sextet has played live thus far. Asking For A Friend takes its title from an “I Don’t Know What I Want” lyric.
“We are still entrenched in the jam-band scene,” keyboardist Joel Cummins explained to journalist Dave Fricke but noted the new album “is not a jam-band record. There isn’t improvisation on it, really. There are guitar and keyboard solos. But this is an effort to keep things tight and concise, to get after the essence of what these songs are about.”
As per Joel, “[Asking For A Friend] doesn’t sound like any other album we’ve put out. We still have our feet planted in our old material. Every night is a different career-spanning set. But this new music feels like a shot in the arm. People who thought they knew what we were about will be surprised by what they find.”
“Small Strides” is the perfect example of the combination of new and classic UM soundscapes that Cummins described. Sung by guitarist Brendan Bayliss, the track features a tight yet dense groove provided by the rhythm section of drummer Kris Myers and bassist Ryan Stasik.
Stream “Small Strides” below:
Asking For A Friend Tracklist
- I Don’t Know What I Want (4:51)
- Small Strides (4:31)
- Always October (4:13)
- Fenced In (3:51)
- New Wings (5:17)
- So Much (3:42)
- Dayville Monarchy (4:05)
- Hiccup (3:07)
- Pure Saturation (4:56)
- It’s Not Your Fault (3:25)
- Escape Goat (5:33)
- How About Now? (3:36)
- Ordinary Times (3:58)
- Work Sauce (4:14)
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