BIG SAD - 'Black Umbrellas' ~ LP

**THIS IS A PRE-ORDER. VINYL WILL BE SHIPPED 2ND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER. LOCALS USING CHECKOUT CODE MGPICKUP CAN PICK UP AT MICROGROOVE ON 9/20 AND AFTER.**

New album from Tampa scene vets Big Sad (feat'g ex-members of Clairmel, The Tim Version, Madison Bloodbath & more!).

TRACKLISTING:
A1: Tragedy At Sea
A2: Whistles
A3: Gametime Decision
B1: Black Umbrellas
B2: 6th And C
B3: Torture On 3
B4: I Guess I Hafta Work

STREET DATE: Friday September 20, 2024
New Granada Records NG087 2024

TAMPA BAY AREA LOCALS:
Use code: MGPICKUP to avoid shipping cost and pick up at Tampa's
Microgroove 4906 N. Florida Ave 33603

ABOUT BLACK UMBRELLAS:
BIG SAD is back and inviting friends old and new to take cover under 'Black Umbrellas'.

The album, via Florida's New Granada Records, finds the Tampa rock band still carrying the weight of human struggle from its debut, Send Help, which was released in 2020 on the same day that America confirmed its first case of COVID-19.

But the new music adds another layer of reflection. The lyrics are a companion for listeners who feel like they’ve lost hope in the day-to-day struggle of inequality and fighting to be more than somebody that just gets through the day.

Over seven tracks, Big Sad channels its influences—the warmth of Jets To Brazil’s Orange Rhyming Dictionary, the frantic guitars of J. Mascis, and unbridled joy of Superchunk and Archers of Loaf—into a record that showcases the growth of Dave Decker and Richie Lawler’s songwriting partnership that dates back to 1992.

On the anthemic lead single, “Tragedy At Sea,” Lawler took inspiration from a friend’s poem that analogizes the time in life when a parent has to let go and let the child leave home. Or not.

The title track finds Decker, a photojournalist, using words to take listeners back to Portland in the summer of 2020 when the city’s activists went toe-to-toe with homeland security officers and local police in full riot gear. Tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets filled the air. “We all left bruised,” Decker said about the experience of covering that year’s protests.

Black Umbrellas is a reflection on life’s bruises, and it’s a chance for listeners to hear the band—Decker and Lawler together with fellow Tampa punk scene lifers Shawn Watkins and Mario Framingheddu—tell them they’re not alone in feeling beat up.

“It’s not a hopeful record by any means. There’s plenty of hope out there already,” Decker said. “This album is just us trying to tell what we’re going through on a daily basis. We’re just talking to you about life. It’s a conversation, and it’s a reminder that hope comes through shared experiences.”