Instantly forgettable and entirely uninspired, The Urgency’s self-titled debut full-length pulsates with monotony and feels anything but urgent.
While many will doubtlessly clamber to hang on the ass-end of this Vermont/Brooklyn outfit’s bandwagon, I’m more than cozy sitting this one out on the sidelines. The Urgency, led by vocalist Tyler Gurwicz, pulls off just about every sound-alike scam in the book and fails to provide any hint that these cats have any distinctiveness to speak of.
Of course, edible and expected power pop dressed up in chiselled good looks and abundant amounts of marketability often works wonders and The Urgency will probably do quite well with the yelping teenage set. Still, it’s a sad state of affairs when even Ashlee Simpson proves to be more exciting at this point.
Lyrically, Gurwicz has the nuance of a chubby prostitute on E. Take the opening number, “Fingertips,” for instance. Here the band momentarily apes The Police as the vocalist spurts lyrics like “Baby, won’t you spread your pretty little lips, get ready for my fingertips” and “I could get caught between your legs tonight.” Yeah.
Musically, the predictability is in high-gear. Songs start and stop right on cue and you could probably set your broken Timex by the appearance of weepy, emo ballads in the album’s configuration. The arrangements lack adventure, pluck, or anything of interest.
Gurwicz, a musical theatre student, invokes all of the spirits of high drama in his self-expression. Some might find him poetic, even theatrical, in his expression of “feelings” and robust couplets. For the most part, however, he lacks any distinguishing personality and sounds so similar to Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump that you wonder if they’re the same person.
“Rooftops” unfolds a structure so agonizingly lame that it hurts to listen to. The chorus “soars” right when it is supposed to, with Gurwicz singing “Here on the rooftop, the moment is right.” It’s perfect for The Hills, I’ll give it that.
“Revolution” is probably the best of the bunch, with Gurwicz going the vocal distance during the verses before the song plunges back down to normalcy. Again, the lyrics provide problems as “All these bold-faced stuntas won’t know what’s coming for them” just sounds out-and-out childish.
The Urgency is generating quite a bit of buzz, much like many power pop/rock groups do upon their first arrival. Unfortunately, the record does little to match the hype and provides tasteless, inexpressive, mind-numbing tunes on top of banal structures and cushy, odd, brainless lyrics.
C’mon, there’s plenty of room on the sidelines with me.
Article comments
1 - Mark Latwon
I respectfully disagree. I love this sound, the lyrics and everything about The Urgency. This band has given me new hope that there is a different sound out there that doesn't sound like the rest. I am a big fan of the All American Rejects, the Police and other upbeat, positive, energetic bands that make you want to turn up the volume. This band is going to be HUGE!
2 - Sarah
Wow. I was very surprised to find such a negative review of this band. I have seen them live before and they put on a fantastic, engergetic, live show. While I agree that their sound may be a bit too polished in places, I think their lyrics are creative and the ebb and flow of their music is fun to listen to.
3 - jenn
sounds like Jordan RIchardson needs a gay prostitute on E of his own!!! Who made you GOD???
4 - Austen
It seems that the author of this review does not know anything about music what so ever.
5 - allison
Its quite obvious that you know nothing about music. Why don't you make a better album and then we'll see how bad the urgency "sucks". They happen to be super talent and super nice and humble guys. They work hard and love what they do.
6 - ziggy
wait wait wait.. a maple syrup enthusiast is trying to tell me that the urgency's album is bad? HA that's pretty funny. with all due respect i totally disagree and you must not know anything about music because that is a GREAT album. and yeah I like how you mentioned ripping off the police, Tyler also said in an interview that Sting is a huge influence for him.
7 - Candy Kane
No that is a spot on review, how many more emo bands do we need in the world, ?
It just sucks
8 - Mark
wow, only one comment that kind of agrees with the author. i just heard this album for the first time today, and am quite impressed. the sound is polished, sure, but aren't they on def jam? would you expect anything different?
can't blame you, jordan. it's trendy to not like this kind of music right now. just go listen to your devendra banhart cd. or is that uncool already? man, i can't keep up with this stuff.
9 - EmoSucks
I agree with Mr Richardson and would like to stress that all critism towards this man are unjustified, non-significant, and proves that the emo culture have no morals and no shame for poisoning our culture with its tatty crap.
The sooner emo dies a horrible death, the better.
10 - Mark latwon
Glad to see that Ryan Siegel is still writing. Check out Exes of Evil
11 - Tweedle89
This is clearly not a real music critic. There has been no comment towards the music itself, just some cheap insults dressed up with overused adjectives.