Courtesy of a weird skip that glanced across my radio while lost in the North Georgia mountains, I had one of those mini radio epiphanies that stick at least until you hold the culpable disc in your hand and have played it close to infinitum. Done up in lug nut tight harmonies, solid grooves and general melodic splendor, the Umajets are the cream of Atlanta's pop holdouts. Originally configured as a duo that performed acoustically under the name Thing 1 Thing 2, principal members Tim Smith is late of Jellyfish (bass) while Rob Aldridge was the vocal side of Holly Faith. While I've heard them deny that their name is any roundabout homage paid to a certain starlet, the 16 tracks that make up Demolotion are fairly fetching in themselves.
Coupled with the release of the Imperial Drag album (that features two other ex-Jellyfish-ermen), it's now easy to see all the elements that were more or less integral to that particular pop beast. Imperial Drag walked away with all the glam-ish bits while the Umajets got the sugary hooks and the inventive arrangements. As a quick for instance, Rob and Tim drop a sucker punch chorus into "Fly" and practically retool the mid-tempo feel of the track without the listener feeling unnecessarily jostled. The brilliant "Half Man Half Wrecking Ball" is illuminated by a nifty bridge and sweet backdrop harmonies through the refrains. And while I half promised myself that I wouldn't inject the near inevitable Beatles allusion, a relisten to songs like "Mother" and "My Weary Eyes" have melodies that are so unblemished that they approach the high flung McCartney-esque standards for perfect ballads.
Had you heard the demo of "Girl Named God," you might agree that the electric version included here doesn't quite nab your ear as the former. And even though I'm not quite sure that the running order plays to all the strengths of the album, there's so much going right for Demolotion over 17 tracks all told, thats it's nothing to quibble over. Now fleshed out as a four piece, they'd be a must see if you were planning to brave the Olympic hordes and be in the Atlanta area this summer and could catch them during one of their rare club gigs. Overall, quite a gem for the pop faithful.
Still in the process of considering different labels, interested parties can write to the band at: Umajets, 1387 Oxford Rd., Suite 203, Atlanta, GA 30307 or umajets@aol.com
