Urge Overkill

Saturation (Geffen ’93) Rating: B+
Born poseurs having long acted like the born stars that they aren’t, at the time of this release Urge Overill were better known for their stylish appearances, martini toting attitudes, and the bad blood between them and former mentor (and fellow Chicagoian) Steve Albini than for their music. But I don't give a shit about any of that. It's the music that counts, right? Well, there's some fine music on this album, beginning with “Sister Havana” and “Positive Bleeding,” two great straight ahead rock singles that finally garned the band some airplay. Elsewhere, the band comes on like Kiss on the catchy, singable "Tequila Sundae," while "Back On Me" and "Bottle Of Fur" are catchy, melancholic mid-tempo rockers of the type you'd expect from Soul Asylum when they're going good. As you may have surmised, this isn't the most original band, but at least they try out different styles beyond the sleekly ironic, hard rocking glam pop that they're best known for (and which has often been compared to Cheap Trick). For example, "The Stalker" sounds like a bad Bleach outtake (hey, I didn't say all of the different styles worked), while "Dropout" delivers cheesy synth soul that I know I shouldn't like but which I dig just the same (think Ween doing "Spirit Of '76"). Better yet, "Erica Kane" actually gives the listener the best of both worlds by first hurtling forward as a chugging groove rocker (with a suprisingly great guitar solo) before transforming into another kitschy but catchy chorus and then thrashing away all over again. Anyway, to get away from song-by-song descriptions and speak in more general terms again, suffice it to say that with only average singing and playing abilities and a fairly generic mainstream sound, Urge Overill are only as good as their hooks. Fortunately, the hooks are fairly abundant throughout, though there are a couple of songs (most notably "Crackbabies") that make me reach for the fast forward button. Still, the percentages definitely work in the band's favor, as by and large this was a highly entertaining album that saw the band improving their craft, thereby proving that there was indeed some substance behind their stylish suits. Note: Their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" further increased the band's profile when it was included on the popular Pulp Fiction soundtrack, but 1995's Exit the Dragon was a commercial disappointment and the band later broke up.

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