Umphrey's McGee Release Fourteenth Album 'Asking For A Friend'

Umphrey’s McGee released Asking For A Friend, the band’s fourteenth studio album, on July 1, 2022 through its own label, Nothing Too Fancy Music. The record runs 14 tracks and was written and recorded across the pandemic shutdown.

The record gathers work that had already been trickling out. It collects “I Don’t Know What I Want,” a single released earlier in 2022, along with the four songs from the band’s New Wings EP.

The album is distributed on Bandcamp through Ineffable Records.

Where the record was made

Jambands.com reports that the album was recorded at Boondock, guitarist Jake Cinninger’s studio in Niles, Michigan. Live For Live Music reports that the record was cut over three sessions at three different studios during the pandemic.

“This is an effort to keep things tight and concise, to get after the essence of what these songs are about,” keyboardist Joel Cummins said.

Guitarist and vocalist Brendan Bayliss described the writing as “tapping into the idea that we were all isolated yet somehow still connected and experiencing the same emotions.”

The tracklist

The Bandcamp tracklist runs: “I Don’t Know What I Want,” “Small Strides,” “Always October,” “Fenced In,” “New Wings,” “So Much,” “Dayville Monarchy,” “Hiccup,” “Pure Saturation,” “It’s Not Your Fault,” “Escape Goat,” “How About Now?,” “Ordinary Times” and “Work Sauce.”

“Small Strides” arrived as the album’s second advance track on March 11, 2022, the same day the band announced the full record.

NFTs, stems and a podcast

To mark the release, the band issued 2,022 entry-level NFTs priced at $25. The tokens unlock album stems and limited-edition art, along with randomly distributed items including vinyl test pressings and handwritten lyrics.

Umphrey’s McGee also partnered with Osiris Media, the podcast network co-founded by Phish lyricist Tom Marshall, on Talking Circles, a podcast documenting the making of the album.

The tour picks up outside Syracuse

The band’s touring schedule resumes a week after the release. Umphrey’s McGee plays the Bud Light Amphitheater at Paper Mill Island in Baldwinsville, N.Y., just outside Syracuse, on July 8, 2022.

Sources: Jambands.com, Live For Live Music, Ineffable Records / Bandcamp, Extra Chill.

Photo: Truejustice, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.