years of work for McKinnon. Umlaut's eclectic musical stylings reside in the same vein as McKinnon's previous bands, Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3—injecting an energetic and whimsical blend of pop, jazz, avant-garde metal, symphonic atmosphere, and electronica into its sound. When Mr. Bungle officially disbanded, Bär was left with material he had written for the band, so he decided to apply it towards a solo venture. Many of his Umlaut bandmates found him based on his prior music affiliations. According to McKinnon: "Melbourne is a very hip place as far as music and musicians and there's no shortage of good musos, so I'm super lucky that I ended up here; it just made the most sense. Musos sought me out, perhaps on the back of Bungle's notoriety. I mean, who knew a Mr. Bungle member was living in Melbourne?" Umlaut has seen many incarnations and lineup changes through the years. The band has accompanied comedian Neil Hamburger, as well as Secret Chiefs 3, on their various tours in Australia. Band members Bär McKinnon – tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet, keyboards, guitar, lead vocals Angus Leslie – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards Olaf Scott – keyboards Hudson Whitlock – drums, percussion Julian Langdon – bass Shane Lieber – bass Gareth Thompson – drums John Myatt – bassoon Rob McDonald – vibraphone Pieta Hextall – bassoon Guest performers Mike Patton – vocals ("Atlas Face" – 2009) Matt Lieber – drums (Umlaut – 2009) Jeff Lieber – guitar (Umlaut – 2009) Albums Umlaut Release date: October 10, 2009 Label: Orchard The album's single "Atlas Face" features Faith No More frontman and fellow Mr. Bungle bandmate Mike Patton on lead vocals. Review from Consequence of Sound: "Sporadic bursts of circus-themed noise. The sludgy guitar grind of heavy metal. Unpredictable blasts of horn instruments. There's no denying the influence of Mr. Bungle in every note of Umlaut's self-titled album, and how can comparisons not be drawn when the band is the musical venture of Mr. Bungle's saxophonist Clinton "Bär" McKinnon. But though it's easy to see where McKinnon is drawing from, the Australian-based Umlaut is a wholly original project that takes a proven, experimental concept and makes it all its own". To Your Poverty Quietly Go Release date: August 29, 2014 Label: Romero Records / Orchard From MusicTrust: "Unlike the many other bands that seem bent on simply reveling in mad energy generated by constantly shifting