Urges

These are exciting times in the Dublin music scene. All at once there is a glut of must-see bands and we’re talking bands with a plan, with definable images and, most importantly, songs to rival anything the UK is producing. The Urges are one such band. But the UK is taking to them too; this is a band with a great following and there’s a palpable sense of event when they play a gig. The five young sixties throwbacks emerge through a fog of dry ice and hairspray, a swirling psychedelic stage come on looking like they're an edition of Ready Steady Go! The style, then, is spot on – what of the substance? Straight up, their set of songs is as cool as the group appear. The Urges combine the perfectly executed pop of The Kinks with the more rugged blues edginess of Them but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Yes, they are derivative but for all that they take their lead from that bygone era when popular music was uniformly fresh and fun, their sound, style and attitude is pretty much their own. They strut their hour upon the stage volleying one catchy, energetic pop song after another, no time being wasted on endless tuning or tiresome existential eulogies. Entertainment is their key objective and the band is obviously well rehearsed and conscientious. Backed by his near perfect rhythm ‘n’ jangle minstrels, vocalist Jim Walters shakes his tambourine and maracas with brooding intent. He has the confident swagger of a young Jagger and the looks of a young Robin Askwith; surely a winning combination in anyone’s book. They launched their debut album by supporting the Sonics in New York and are returning to London with a single release on Dirty Water Records.