"THE BEST GARAGE RECORD THIS DECADE" (ipunkrock.com)
THE URGES Psych Ward Stomping Ground ***
London has The Horrors, and here's Dublin's revenge: psyched-out zombie rocker complete with all the horrorshow ingredients: the devilishly swirling Farfisa organ, the bendy guitar twangs, the singer who howls like a teenage werewolf at a beach party. The Urges may lovingly recreate the primitive garage punk sound of the 1960s, exemplified by The Count Five, The Electric Prunes and the 13th Floor Elevators, but they avoid becoming too cartoon- like, sidestepping the schlock and focusing on the flipped-out mentalism of Read the Signs, You're Gonna Find Out, The 13th Floor and So Uptight. Recorded in glorious analogue in deepest Spain, Psych Ward is an 11-track shot of retro adrenaline and old-fashioned paranoia. They may be sucking on the rotting flesh of classic garage psychedelia, but at least The Urges have spawned something rivetingly unhinged.
KEVIN COURTNEY - The Irish Times
all photos are by the parisian FLORIAN
"....WE DO NOT LOVE, WE ONLY HATE, WANT TO DESTROY NOT TO CREATE...."
Born out of suburban frustration The Urges started out in a damp Dublin garage in late 2004. With little or no musical knowledge they set out to write nothing but raw stripped down rock 'n' roll.
Since then they have enjoyed the success of their debut single '(Around &) Around Again' which topped the Irish charts in the summer of 2005 and have played along side many big named bands such as The Zutons, The La's, Wild Billy Childish, Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, The Buzzcocks, Babyshambles, Kulashaker and just about every major garage band since the 60's (The Electric Prunes, The Remains, The Cynics, The Pretty Things). They have been included on a number of compilations with the likes of The Hives, 5678's, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Chesterfield Kings & have spent the last two years playing festivals throughout Europe including Oxygen (David Bowie, The Strokes, P.J. Harvey, The Kings of Leon) and the notorious Primitive Festival in Rotterdam, Holland (Von Bondies, The Mighty Ceasars, The Chesterfield Kings) as well as being invited to play Cavestomp in New York alongside such legends as The Sonics, The Alarm Clocks, Strawberry Alarm Clock & The Lyres.
The Urges sound can be traced as far back as the mid 60's where primal fuzztone and psychedelic organ kicked of real rock 'n' roll - all the way up to the present day where indie garage rock could not be a more domineering musical force. When it comes to live shows The Urges don't resort to filling a set with pagiarized riffs & shoe gazing, their performances are both primal & chaotic emanating a threat of violence which makes the men stand back & makes the girls step forward! The Urges effortlessly drift in and out of different timings & melodies but constantly maintain an authentic yet primitive sound which always leaves the crowd crying for more. Having spent the last two years honing their sound The Urges have managed to capture this on their debut album.
"A new generation of teenage psych-punk bands is hitting the scene these days and the leaders of this movement are without any doubt the amazing Urges, which 'Psych ward' proves impressively. They can be best described as the missing link between those old titans of the 60's, such as the Music Machine, the Seeds and the Electric Prunes and the 'Paisley Underground' of the 80's with bands like the Morlocks, Fuzztones and Miracle Workers. In fuzz we trust!!!"
-Soundflat Records
"The Urges Theme" Directed by the amazing Love Action , .
"Jenny, Jenny" directed by Marco Laguna Di Capri, April 06 at the Go Lleida Festival in Lleida, Spain
"The Urges Theme" caught on camera by Sixties Garage Girl , June 06 at the Primitive Festival in Rotterdam, Holland
"Searching" - the urges destroy the Omens piece of brilliance, captured by Grahamo Wray in the Crawdaddy, Dublin, August 06
"(Around &) Around Again" directed by Marco Laguna Di Capri, April 06 at the Go Lleida Festival in Lleida, Spain
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