I've got to admit, I'm a pretty new-school Urge fan. I liked "Jump Right In," the single from their previous album, quite a bit, but I never actually went out and picked that disc up. Even after seeing them open up for Korn (and pretty much blow them off the stage), I still balked, for whatever reason. It took me seeing the Urge open up for Fishbone and practically set the stage on fire for me to actually get off my ass and grab this, their latest offering. It makes me feel like an idiot for waiting this long. It's surprising to me that the Urge hasn't achieved as much commercial success as 311, the band it seems they're most compared to. I mean, they do more or less the same kinds of things, blending Helmet-style power rock with reggae, dub, and ska, but I think the Urge manages to pull it off with more soul and sincerity (and less reverb, thank God). I think they beat 311 in the hook craftsmanship department as well, because each song on here seems like it could be a hit ("Four Letters and Two Words" and the title track are my "most listened to," currently). Unfortunately, one of the Urge's most interesting facets seems to have been lost in the production of this album. While their horn section is present, most of the time they are barely discernable in the mix (which is definitely not the case if you see these cats live), and the album suffers for it. If the Urge's next album has Truth and Soul-style horn production on it, look out. (MHo)
(Immortal/Virgin Records)