“Rubicon,” the first track on Phantoms (Modern Outsider), the second album by the Austin rock trio Ume, sets the record’s tone with a ferocious, processed sound. It delivers a jolt to the senses, which is precisely the point. Formed in 2005 by the Houston couple Eric and Lauren Larson (on bass and guitar, respectively), the band created thunder from the word go. Ume lost ground when Lauren decided to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy at Penn State, leaving an opening for at least one band, the Welsh sensation the Joy Formidable, to grab some attention with a very similar sound and image (both are cyclonic trios fronted by female guitarists). But academia didn’t take, so the Larsons moved to Austin, recruited a new drummer, and went back to work. Phantoms is self-produced, and the overcooked sound persists throughout, which is too bad; as good as they are at bringing the noise, it would be nice to hear Ume in a less artificial setting. On songs like “Rubicon,” “The Push,” and “Captive,” the production blurs the band’s strong melodies and Lauren’s riffing occasionally sidles dangerously close to Ozzy-metal parody. But the eighties-flavored post-punk assault isn’t the only thing going on here. Lauren’s arresting voice (reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser) has no trouble soaring above the din of her manic guitar prowess, and there’s none of the lyrical pretension you might expect from a former academic. Instead, Ume takes us on a 35-minute summer thrill ride.
