Local Review: Bumpy Soup – The Bumpy Album

Bumpy Soup
The Bumpy Album
Self-Released
Street: 08.06
Bumpy Soup = Radiohead + Slint + StereoLab + Alex G 

Who is Bumpy Soup? The Southern Utah art collective adds music to their long list of artistic projects with their first album, The Bumpy Album. Coming from a creative background, the collective is composed of childhood friends that have produced a comedy series and podcast, where each member brings a new element to the table. With team leader Alek Wiltbank and the rest of Bumpy Soup, the newly formed band takes their comedy performance framework and creates an album that can be best described as an experimental explosion of every and all genre. 

As a ten track album, The Bumpy Album starts its musical journey off with a bang, with eight of of ten songs being collaborative tracks with other artists including Whsprkd, Chase McClung, Aqua Supreme, Waking Up with Wolves, Kill Swon, emrae and Deely Stan. The local artists showcase their sentiments for community through the collaboration of the singing and songwriting process, as well as, with the album cover reading, “Union For Ever.” 

Track one, “Does This Remind You of Something,” has a bit more of an indie sound than the other hardcore tracks. Accompanied by Whsprkd and Chase McClung, the dreamy song is reminiscent of a lullaby, but sprinkled with a bit of jazzy and psychedelic influence. The two vocalists complement each other, along with the sweet sounds of the xylophone that sparkle with each note. It almost feels nostalgic; the xylophone and tambourine instrumentation is soothing, bringing me back to the simpler time of being a kid. Towards the end of the song, the beat and vocals progress and become faster and louder, matching the energy of the next track, “Alexander-Arnold,” which begins with a strong guitar instrumental. 

“Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth,” the third track with Waking Up with Wolves, is a melodic day dream. Down to the echoing whistles, light strumming of the acoustic guitar and soft vocals, this track warms your soul and creates a sense of unity. Listening to this song was almost therapeutic and further enhances the eclectic experience of the album. The seventh track, “The Astronaut Song,” also has a lot of indie alternative elements, along with that “feel good” energy. These songs are what you listen to with the people you love and those you want to plan out your hopes and dreams.

A personal favorite of mine is “Lemon Pepper Dry Rub,” with Kill Swon, not only because the name is unique, but because it instantly reminded me of Glass Animals. With more instrumentation and sounds than lyrics, this is the kind of music that is great for a noise-canceling headphone sound bath. The hazy voices and sounds transport you somewhere else and take you directly into the next track seamlessly. 

Each note melts into each other in the fifth track, “Slonk,” where the punk rock guitar melds with the vocals and static noises radiating in the background. The conversational aspect of the track adds to the psychedelic nature of the song, as the voices talk about human consumption, which speaks to the punk rock roots in the messaging. “Slonk” is a song I can see in my head, where the visuals are the music notes moving like paint. The splatter of the paint is the electrifying strumming and in the end, the song created a masterpiece. 

Diving into a bit more ‘90s, emo post-rock, “Smothers Buchanan!” and “Dan Spunk” both have a mean guitar instrumentation that transcends the rock influences to a whole new level. The last twenty seconds of “Smoothers Buchanan!” completely shift with the sound of horns and a choir singing. This transition culminates the song nicely from the heavier music and lyrics including, “a hundred or less left to my name/ maybe six feet deep I will find a place that is safe.” On “Dan Spunk,” with Deely Stan, the fast tempo guitar and drum match the screaming and vocal intensity of the song. You can feel the angst emanating from the vocalist, especially towards the last minute of the song when it is just hard drum cymbals and screaming.  

“Lilac” with emrae carries on that indie sound with a bit of pop and alternative. The female vocals dance along with drum beats and create beauty in the somber tones of the music. Lyrics, “Where did you go?/You left out my window/Now I wear your clothes,” illustrate a story of loss and longing, painting a picture that many have experienced. “Lilac” makes me think of my first relationship and breakup.

Ending the album with a 100% Bumpy Soup original, “Honestly That,”the song blends the hand drumming, delicate strums of the acoustic guitar and the collective voices. Lyrics like“intentional dreams/ it means everything/ they found their way to you,” are thoughtful and leave you with uplifting messaging about life. If you are looking for an album that will take you on a musical journey that will make you see and feel things you never experienced before, then The Bumpy Album is the one for you. –India Bown

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