West Coast Consortium - Mr. Umbrella Man

West Coast Consortium's late '60 's 45 's were sophisticated, lavishly-orchestrated close harmony Pop affairs. At heart, though, they were a Garage Psychedelic Pop band - as can be heard on Mr. Umbrella Man, which assembles the pick of the four demo albums they made between 1967 and 1969. Now heard for the first time, this astonishing cache of recordings reveal that, left to their own devices, West Coast Consortium ditched the brass and strings arrangements of their singles in favor of Mellotrons, fuzz guitars, Vox Continental organs and Wah-Wah pedals, while hitherto unreleased nuggets like 'Santa Monica Bay', 'Aimie (Sing Your Song for Me)' and the woozy 'Mr. Umbrella Man' show a parallel debt to the lo-fi, DIY approach of the Beach Boys circa Smiley Smile and Friends. Tenth Planet. 2008.