Clinton McKinnon Umlaut Project Releases STFU Before July Album Release
Melbourne experimental outfit Umlaut have issued their second single ‘STFU’ from forthcoming album Desolé, due July 25 via Overdrive Records. The track follows previous single ‘Happy Now’ in advance of the LP, which marks a shift toward more accessible territory for the group.
Artist: Umlaut
Release Date: 2025-07-25
Genres: Alternative Rock, Art Rock, Avant-garde, Experimental Music, Jazz, Progressive Rock
Label: Overdrive Records
Description: Umlaut releases STFU single ahead of Desolé album July 25 via Overdrive Records. Ex-Mr Bungle member Clinton McKinnon leads Melbourne experimental quartet.
Featured image: Bailey Judd
The band’s core lineup centers on Clinton ‘Bär’ McKinnon, Angus Leslie, and Shane Lieber, now expanded to a four-piece with drummer Danny Heifetz. Previous iterations have ranged from seven-member live configurations to horn-heavy arrangements, but the current formation represents a deliberate streamlining after what Lieber describes as “the nightmare of trying to accommodate so many musicians’ schedules.”
McKinnon joined Mr. Bungle in 1989 and played tenor saxophone on their Warner Bros. albums including the ground-breaking self-titled debut (1991), Disco Volante (1995), and California (1999). He was a member of the band until their disbandment in 2000 after which he went on to work with Secret Chiefs 3. Umlaut is an experimental progressive band based out of Melbourne, Australia. It is the culmination of years of work for McKinnon following his relocation from the United States.
‘STFU’ addresses what McKinnon terms “owning one’s mistakes or transgressions and how hollow even the most sincere apology can feel.” The song sits within an album that emerged from pandemic-era rehearsals, where the band worked through material ranging from note-for-note recreations of McKinnon’s demos to pieces developed collectively in the rehearsal room.
Recording took place across three different studios, with sessions at Idge’s Soundpark in Northcote providing access to organs, synthesizers, and outboard gear. Leslie noted the varied approaches, with some tracks like ‘Grumpy Libarary’ mapped out methodically while others like ‘Vinnie’ were captured in single takes. Additional overdub work included percussion sessions at Heifetz’s studio and what Leslie described as “re-amplified giggling and screaming into distorted amps.”
The album’s ten tracks include ‘Cold Sore’, originally written for Mr. Bungle’s Disco Volante, alongside new compositions like ‘The Tarnished Legacy’, ‘Bite Your Tongue (The Cupboard Song)’, and ‘My Government is Never Wrong’. Final mixing was completed at Leslie’s now-closed Clifton Hill space with engineers Michael O’Connell and Nao Anzai.
Desolé will be available on LP, CD, and digital formats through Overdrive Records and Bandcamp on July 25.
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