Album Notes

For a couple of years Nick Gaitan's band has put on delicious performances around town without any recordings that would allow the euphoria to continue after it leaves the stage. Nick Gaitan & the Umbrella Man finally addresses the problem. Their sound is a Gulf Coast panorama: a little pop, rock, country, polka, blues. If it hails from a region that goes on hurricane watch each year, it's likely to be in the mix. The songs almost sound like thumbtacks in a local map.

Or, to pull the band's handle into it, all these styles huddle together nicely under the one umbrella. Some dub and ska — not exactly representative of these parts — add a exotic touch. Andrew Dansby- Houston Chronicle





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Kam Franklin and Gaitan sound like they've been vocal counterparts for eons, trading lines on the slinky Western-flavored Keep on the Move. Elsewhere she shadows his vocals before twisting into a harmony on the accordion-powered I've Found My Weakness in You. She steps out on Crosstown for a warm reading of a new old-fashioned weeper.

An Umbrella Man show has a celebratory feeling that can't quite find its way into the digital realm. But when Roberto Rodriguez's accordion starts twisting in circles with Bart Maloney's pedal steel, there's no reason you can't draw the curtains and cut a rug.

andrew.dansby@chron.com