“What, then, legitimately falls into the category of progressive rock in the music world of 2009? Enter Umbrella Tree and their latest album, The Letter C. The two-man-one-woman band from Nashville deliver a refreshing and—dare I say—reformed concoction of eclectic tunes, finding roots in Decemberists-style gothic lyrics driven by a sound not unlike Arcade Fire with hints of The Deadly Syndrome. Their sound is nothing if not complex and, though complexity itself doesn’t necessarily have much to do with quality, Umbrella Tree seamlessly bridges the gap between the two.”

“Listening to Umbrella Tree is a commitment with no easy outs. That's partially because singer/guitarist Zachary Gresham, singer/keyboardist Jillian Leigh and drummer Derek Pearson completely give themselves over to their live performances—Gresham acting the part of the wiry, animated ringmaster, Leigh the mysterious, girlish coquette and Pearson the focused brute with the precise touch.”

“Nashville freak folkies Umbrella Tree take the stage at the Mercy Lounge this Thursday for a CD/DVD release party. The trio's new album, The Letter C, continues in the same vein as their previous work--loose and off-beat compositions held down by the distinct vocal dueling between guitarist Zachary Gresham and keyboardist Jillian Leigh. The latter's angelic voice feints and weaves around Gresham's spooky warbling, creating an odd balance of abrasive intonation and harmony.”

“Apparently, this is just the first in a series of 15 videos planned to accompany a new Umbrella Tree album, to be called The Letter C. As someone with a bit of an electric typewriter fetish, I love to see an old Smith Corona in action--an effect that places a pretty heavy emphasis on the lyrical content of the song, as phrases are typed, scrolled and magnified throughout. I'd say a lot of those lyrics lend themselves to visual representation (developing photos, the look of bedroom walls in the morning and so forth), but something about focusing on the text itself creates an odd effect of its own, and really, the song's narrative stays a lot weirder because your only image of it is mental. (Kind of like the way a book is often much more powerful than the film version, because the imagination is limitless the way a picture can never be.)”

“Where did Umbrella Tree come from? I know it says Nashville on their MySpace page, and the band said they came from Nashville into the microphone, and that information entered my ear and it didn't process at all. They take three instruments (keyboard, guitar, drums), play them ridiculously tightly and then sing better than you or I, sometimes at a pretty big distance from the microphone. Zachary, the guitarist/bassist and one of two singers, said he has the same name as Zachary Gresham of local band Summer Hymns. He also has a voice that's a dead ringer for Rufus Wainwright's, can do some nasty harmonic fretting and had a fun time saying the name to the bands song titles, including "Bats in the Belfry." Combine those with Jillian's shy, reserved singing and punchy keyboard playing, and you have minor key romps that brought the house down. "Everything you heard can be bought," Gresham said. "It's a miracle." Indeed.”

“Umbrella Tree’s sophomore album The Church & The Hospital opens with a scream—literally. A unison howl prefaces a crash of music. Never a band to allow their audience to get too comfortable, this local threesome mixes moments of alarming beauty with calculated, cacophonous noise. And here the palette has grown even richer—the louds are even louder and the pretty parts often transcendently beautiful. The source of that powerful dichotomy is the relationship between the band’s two singers: keyboardist Jillian Lee and guitarist Zachary Gresham. The petite blonde and the tall bearded guy in suspenders are an odd pair, visually and vocally. Lee has a sweet, exquisitely controlled vocal instrument, while Gresham’s appeal lies in his expressive, shrill warble. Together, they interweave tricky harmonies and call-and-response chants—the musical equivalent of good cop-bad cop.”