Urge Overkill

Urge Overkill initially trafficked in smirks and sarcasm, with matching suits, shades, and swinging U.O. medallions that made the Chicago trio the flannel decade's answer to the Rat Pack. Jesus Urge Superstar and Americruiser, produced by indie-rock icons Steve Albini and Butch Vig, respectively, are pretty impenetrable, if not downright unlistenable mélanges of kitsch-culture posturing and unjustified swagger. The Supersonic Storybook is slightly more focused, with new drummer Blackie Onassis ratcheting up the energy; the rough-hewn vocals and ultradry humor coalesce around some actual songs (notably the chugging "Candidate" and a creepy cover of the melodramatic "Emmaline").

Stull holds some of Urge's darkest originals, and its breakthrough song, a cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," was immortalized in Quentin Tarantino's movie Pulp Fiction.

Saturation is to grunge what Cheap Trick's In Color was to punk; it filters the era's earnest aggression into its arena-ready guitars, delirious drumming, and tongue-in-cheek chic. But Urge also injects eroticism and dark, droll humor, especially on "Bottle of Fur." The precision production by the Butcher Brothers, Joe and Phil Nicolo, makes the case that it's not just the style that sets Urge apart, but the songs.

In contrast, Exit the Dragon has the feel of a gritty demo tape, with stripped-down guitars and scruffy voices playing over spare drumbeats, topped off by bleak lyrics: "Hey, hey, I'm dead on arrival." Things bottom out on "The Mistake," presaging the trio's demise. The last thing one expected from a band that once mocked self-serious punks and grunge-rock grumps is an album preoccupied with breakups, burnout, and death, but that's exactly what Exit the Dragon is. (GEOFF HIMES)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide