The Urchin

Another Day, Another Sorry Sta (2001)

Daniel House

I'm pretty sure that The Urchin must have made this album specifically to impress me. First of all, the title of the record is a Leatherface lyric, and no one who knows me can ignore the fact that Leatherface is my favourite band of all time. Secondly, the music contained on the disc is upbeat, emotional, aggressive punk rock; The Urchin actually wouldn't be very out of place opening for Mush-era Leatherface. Everything about The Urchin's music and the way they present it screams "Daniel Likes This Band!!!," so how could I avoid loving a band who obviously go to such pains to find out my exact musical tastes and cater specifically to them?

Well, the answer is that I can't. The Urchin grab me right away with fast hardcore songs like "Last Order For This City" and the raw, from-the-gut emotion of songs like "Difference Between A and B." They even throw in a sweet metallic guitar solo on the latter song. As the disc blazes through amazing tracks like "Dead Cities Never Sleep" and "Bike Song," I just can't find anything not to like.

Sure, pop-punk is one of the most tired genres in independent music right now, but needles in the haystack like The Urchin make it all worthwhile. When a band obviously loves music so much and dives into their songwriting headfirst, the results can easily be phenomenal. I can reference fifty other bands who craft similar, rough around the edges but beautiful pop music, but The Urchin obviously aren't about sounding like any other band: they simply play the sound that comes out of them naturally, and they play it well and with loads of heart. This is a band that needs to be discovered.

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