Artist: The Urges

Title: Psych Ward

Publication: Hartford Courant

Date: September 2, 2008

Ref: http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/albums/hc-albums0902.artsep02,0,767106.story?page=3

THE URGES
Psych Ward
Wicked Cool

Little Steven Van Zandt has amassed quite an underground empire of garage rock with his Wicked Cool label, showcasing some of the best the genre has to offer, from overlooked veterans like the Woggles and the Chevelles, to younger turks like the Len Price 3 and the Charms. The Urges, who hail from Dublin, Ireland, fall into the latter category, having just unleashed one corker of a debut.

This is straight-up snotty '60s-style psych-punk played with a lot of youthful energy and enthusiasm. When the band wants to, it can kick it into fifth gear like on "I Gotta Wait" or "You're Gonna Find Out," songs that end in punk-driven furors of fuzz and feedback. The group also takes an organ-soaked lust song such as "The 13th Floor" and tears it apart with explosions of heavy distorted guitar, keeping the listener from losing focus. Then there's "Salvage," which is a maniacal burst of evil guitar and guttural screams and grunts, making it sound like the theme song for some trashy B-movie from the '60s.

The Urges have given good old garage rock a kick in the butt, and the genre is better for it. Essential download: "You're Gonna Find Out"

— Thomas Pizzola