"Boy / Call me an actress / You know I come when I’m called / Isn’t that despicable?"
There is something about "Strange Actress" from Uma Bloo's upcoming debut full length "Don't Drive Into the Smoke" that while rather dreamy and elusive feels as hardcore as a pummeling punk song and as infinitely intriguing as Molly Madden's deeply entrancing vocal aesthetic. Like jumping out of an airplane, the track starts off serene and self reflective but moments later with an edgy sort of surf punk beat the song absolutely erupts as does Madden's big vocal wail. The bridge makes me smile, the diversion feels darkly surreal, even otherworldly but damn beautiful before the song explodes once more.
[I wrote Strange Actress towards the end of my time in acting school. I noticed my inclination to wait at the feet of anyone who would tell me I was good (still kinda do on a bad day/year). After auditioning, if it goes well, the actor may be requested for a call back where they do a second or even third, fourth audition for the role. It seemed identical to how I was in love, always waiting for that call back and just like the actor I encountered pretty much exclusive rejection. I got a bit addicted to that rejection and the cycle went on and on. Ultimately I stopped focusing on acting because I felt that my heart just wasn’t that resilient, but I find myself missing it a lot these days. I feel perhaps most revealed on the lyrics]:
“Call me an actress,
you know I come
when I’m called
Isn’t that despicable?”
"Don’t Drive Into the Smoke" drops on March 23rd via Earth Libraries.
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/umabloo
https://www.instagram.com/umabloo/?hl=en
https://earthlibraries.bandcamp.com/album/dont-drive-into-the-smoke
https://open.spotify.com/track/4t3iHKzJ4DJBBvqt0lbB08
With her latest album, Uma Bloo’s Molly Madden is trying to trick herself. Due March 23rd via Earth Libraries, Don’t Drive Into the Smoke encapsulates a core of intense grief within layers of more familiar love and heartbreak. By opening her explorations in the form of immaculately layered indie rock epic, the Chicago-based artist and the listener can face the depths of pain together. “It’s about needing love so bad, getting shards of it here and there, and then watching yourself from above as you spill all over the place,” she says. “Love and lust are great deceivers, fantastic distractions from getting to the heart of the pain.”
Uma Bloo is a character Molly Madden invented in response to world-weariness. Originally a solo project based in burlesque performance, Madden has since expanded into a full-fledged band that connects with audiences through sheer force of will. The band’s strengths lie in stage performance and Madden’s unguarded lyrics that lay her out in the open. The sultry existentialist Uma Bloo is often compared to Angel Olsen and Warhol superstar Nico, who shares a penchant for defying traditional boundaries of genre while enticing listeners to reckon with the past. As Madden’s first and only music project to date, her upcoming 2020 debut album includes songs she originally wrote when she was as young as 19. When she began recording, she enlisted Mike Altergott who soon after joined the band. Altergott is also a talented musician and engineer in his own right, who has worked with the likes of Fran and Fauvely, to name a few. Along with her seasoned backing band, Madden brings her background in theater and performance to create an entirely immersive musical experience as Uma Bloo.
We get by with a little help from our friends-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/umabloo
https://www.instagram.com/umabloo/?hl=en
https://earthlibraries.bandcamp.com/album/dont-drive-into-the-smoke
https://open.spotify.com/track/4t3iHKzJ4DJBBvqt0lbB08
With her latest album, Uma Bloo’s Molly Madden is trying to trick herself. Due March 23rd via Earth Libraries, Don’t Drive Into the Smoke encapsulates a core of intense grief within layers of more familiar love and heartbreak. By opening her explorations in the form of immaculately layered indie rock epic, the Chicago-based artist and the listener can face the depths of pain together. “It’s about needing love so bad, getting shards of it here and there, and then watching yourself from above as you spill all over the place,” she says. “Love and lust are great deceivers, fantastic distractions from getting to the heart of the pain.”
Uma Bloo is a character Molly Madden invented in response to world-weariness. Originally a solo project based in burlesque performance, Madden has since expanded into a full-fledged band that connects with audiences through sheer force of will. The band’s strengths lie in stage performance and Madden’s unguarded lyrics that lay her out in the open. The sultry existentialist Uma Bloo is often compared to Angel Olsen and Warhol superstar Nico, who shares a penchant for defying traditional boundaries of genre while enticing listeners to reckon with the past. As Madden’s first and only music project to date, her upcoming 2020 debut album includes songs she originally wrote when she was as young as 19. When she began recording, she enlisted Mike Altergott who soon after joined the band. Altergott is also a talented musician and engineer in his own right, who has worked with the likes of Fran and Fauvely, to name a few. Along with her seasoned backing band, Madden brings her background in theater and performance to create an entirely immersive musical experience as Uma Bloo.
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Uma Bloo, Chicago, artist, singer-songwriter, indie rock, avant garde, art pop, alt rock, dream pop, ethereal pop, Molly Madden, debut album, "Don't Drive Into the Smoke", "Strange Actress",
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