the urges

Formed in 2004, The Urges released their debut single 'Around & Around' the following year. Already renowned in Dublin for their incendiary live shows, this 2 minute classic along with B-side and live favourite 'Jenny, Jenny' confirmed that something special was going on here, and they were rewarded with invitations to play festivals all across Europe. By the time their debut album was released in 2007, the band had moved on from being freak-beat upstarts to the hottest garage band this side of the Atlantic. A pastiche of Elevators, Seeds, Electric Prunes and The Chocolate Watchband (among innumerable others), most of the tracks on 'Psych Ward' would sit quite comfortably on a Nuggets or Pebbles compilation. More European touring followed after the release of the album, as did a trip to the U.S. when the band were asked to play at The Sonics first ever reunion show in New York City, as well as several showcases at the SXSW festival in Austin – via Mexico City for two headline shows. The band were spotted on this excursion by none other than Steve Van Zandt – 'Little Steven', long time member of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street band (and former actor in hit TV series 'The Sopranos'). Little Steven quickly signed the band to his Wicked Cool Records label and 2008 saw the reissue of their debut LP with new artwork and bonus tracks. The band continued to tour internationally in 2009, a year that ended somewhat uncertainly with the departure of guitarist and co-songwriter Glen Flynn. However, having found a sufficiently musical and indecently handsome replacement by January 2010, the band pressed on with the writing and demos for their sophomore effort, which they are currently recording. The band have described the new record as a lot more influenced by late sixties west coast psychedelia and pop (such as Love, Scott Walker, The Byrds) than the trashy garage sounds of their earlier material, and having already road tested many of the songs to a phenomenal response on a recent European tour, The Urges are confident that the record will exceed all but their own expectations.