WRITTEN BY ZACK DESANTIS
READING EAGLE CORRESPONDENT
READING, PA —
As The Inner Urge's debut album descended from its time intro into the depths of cut-time madness, it became apparent that I was in a little over my head. If I hadn't an imminent deadline I may have stopped to collect my thoughts, but circumstances had me rushing headlong with the band into the second half of "Norwegian," the self-titled album's opening track.

Combining flighty melody lines and dark undertones, "Norwegian" sets the stage for a very ambitious record that uses elements of jazz, ambient and post-rock music to convey some interesting ideas. With influences pulling from Middle Eastern, gypsy jazz, Latin and American music, The Inner Urge's first foray into recording is a dense offering that will take at least a few listens until I've heard everything.

In the aptly titled "Two Track Mind," the melodic interplay between the guitar, vibraphone and violin is intoxicating, while the drums, bass and other percussion sounds are expertly arranged to create a backdrop where a dueling violin and guitar solo makes perfect sense. As I dug a little further into the 8-track record, I started to notice more and more bits and pieces in the mix.

Small overdubbed lead lines to double up a solo section or a bassline are used throughout. Interesting mixing techniques and complex reverbs are used to fill out the ambient sections and bring life into the more traditional passages. With only four regular members of the band, I began to wonder how well they would be able to present some of these songs in a live setting.

As luck would have it, the band had a show a few miles from my house at Trooper Thorn's on July 7, so I stopped by to see if they could pull it off.

I made my way into the back porch venue at Trooper's during the band's set break around 8:30, and the place was packed. Immediately I noticed a fairly elaborate band setup.

Drums, bass, synthesizer, guitar, vibraphones, congas and a host of noisemakers cluttered up the back wall of Trooper's, while the band members milled about and greeted the people who came out to see them. A few minutes later Michael Garbett, on vibes and percussion, made his way to the stage and produced a low growl into the microphone with a didgeridoo that he would swing around to mic the different aspects of his set-up as they came into play during the performance.

Later, I arrived at the conclusion that Garbett is the undercover hero of The Inner Urge. He bounces back and forth between myriad different instruments, dropping crucial elements into the performance and making the band sound bigger than it is.

I heard Alex Price say, "The drone's started, I gotta go," over his shoulder as he made his way back to his guitar at center stage.

Jesse Griffith on drums and Andrew Koss on bass and synth followed suit; soon, the band was building in intensity with a vamp that was slowly turning into a song, and then a set, of ambient jazz-fusion.

The Inner Urge plays like a group of veteran musicians well beyond their relatively young ages. Formed between 2012 and 2015 while studying music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Price, Griffith, Koss and Garbett have forsaken the usual stage antics and showmanship for the art of composition. While many bands seek to wow you with flutter and fanfare, I was repeatedly impressed by their sense of restraint.

On "Cause We've Ended as Lovers," a cover of a Jeff Beck tune, the band created a subtle soundscape for Price to squeak out the guitar lines with precision. On even its loudest and most intense passages, the band is careful not to step on each other's toes, and to let the lead line shine through.

An Inner Urge song is like an exercise in patience and anticipation: they don't rush into anything and they leave the song behind just when you wanted to hear more. I'm looking forward to hearing their next recording, and I'll be checking them out the next time they come to town. Maybe I'll see you there. - The Reading Eagle

Pennslyvania’s The Inner Urge released this album ironically almost a year ago, on March 25th of 2018. If I actually knew these guys a while ago, I’d have added this to my 2018 best of list. They’re not your typical instrumental band, which is something I think our followers will love. They blend a plethora of sounds that work extremely well. That laundry list include: jazz, ambience, psychedelic rock, fusion, prog rock, brass instruments, keyboard, violin, saxophone, vibraphone and random percussive instruments. There’s a lot more instrumental bands out there (especially in the jazz/fusion world, outside of instrumental metal and its many subgeneres) I think these guys stand out so much especially with a debut album.

They are super talented, nobody actually stands out and sure as heck don’t mean that in an insulting manner. This is what I respect about certain bands. Some are guitar heavy and written for guitar riffs, vocally focused, rhythmically focused or an instrumental band/guitarist (Vai/Satriani style) shred band. The Inner Urge has put out an album that is COHESIVE, nobody hogs the spotlight and their impressive sound layering again is key to it all. It’s super melodic whether its the saxophone taking a melodic lead, or guitar, or a cool xylophone the guys don’t overdo it with such a densely satisfying sound. Of course a killer rhythm is section is what you need, and that is what their big backbone is. If they didn’t click so well, I guarantee it’d be a mess of a sound. Again fellow guitarists, APPRECIATE A GREAT RHYTHM SECTION. I just admitted that, and I think you all can too.

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Alex Price – Guitar/Violin
Andrew Koss – Bass/Saxophone
Jesse Griffith – Drums
Michael Garbett – Vibraphone/Percussion

Additional Live Musicians:
Nashwan Abdullah – Violin
Will King – Percussion
Josh Wertz – Tenor Saxophone
Matt Klumpp – Keyboard

The band has so many unique and unusual rhythms it’ll keep you grooving for years. Jesse and Andrew are such a good choice on rhythm they feed off each other so well. Drew’s fills on bass are so tasteful it’s like a perfectly cooked medium rare steak. Not hiding so far in the sound, but plays some great fills in the right spots that spice up their expansive sound. The drums aren’t reserved by any means, and perfectly fits The Inner Urge’s sound.

Mike’s percussion and vibraphone adds more layer to their sound, which helps their songs out a whole lot. It’s actually quite key (HAR, HAR) at some points in their songs and helps maintain the moods they aim for. And well, what can I say about Alex? He also represents PRS as proven by that picture…..high five my friend! The young guy has a great future as a player no questions asked. Playing on a clean channel (with some random added reverb, echo, delay and other slight additions) for a good part of the album is impressive. He doesn’t play outside of his means, and clearly annunciates his melodies on guitar even the more subtle ones. I think it also helps the 4 main members went to music schools. Hell two of the members play on cruise ships and their vibraphone player drums on the Pittsburgh Steelers drum line! These young whipper snappers are music, they live and breathe it.

Listen to the self titled album below, and then buy it because pimpin ain’t easy. If you live in the Northeast, check out their shows when they play. I’m sure it’s a hoot. I’ve heard this album about 8 times in the past week and have no shame in admitting that. Great job, especially for a debut it’s awfully eye opening. So excited for new music whenever their busy lives call for it. Absolutely FLAWLESS job gentlemen. Cheers! - Dave Jurenovich // Technical Music Review

“It's like jazz, very jazz inspired but there's other stuff that goes out of that aesthetic (…) stuff like, “Fall Into Existence”... delicate and gracefully forces the listener to commit to the long haul - to put down the phone and experience life for a few precious moments.” - (of the Philadelphia DIY scene)

Start this Thursday evening off with something light, melodic and atmospheric. The Indiana 4 piece (and bigger live) instrumental jazz/fusion/ambient band has meshed together so many sounds you can’t really staple them to something musically. These guys have layered their songs so nicely with the biggest and also most subtle arrangements possible you’ll be pleased ear to ear. I dig this band because of their expansive sound and willing to experiment outside of jazz and fusion. There’s funk, xylophone, bongos, horns and brass, synth, violin and a ton more different instruments that are involved in Inner Urge. Want some more? They also have some weird sections from classic prog artists like King Crimson and band mastermind Robert Fripp, and some psychedelic sections too. They’re just a really, really diverse band with a really cool sound. Check out their latest album below. - Dave Jurenovich // Technical Music Review

“The Inner Urge was the finest instrumental music ever played in Speal's. I love all of the music that is played here but tonight these young, trained musicians just blew us away! Alex Price is unreal on guitar - though I've heard that he plays the violin also. I gotta have these guys back!” - Speal's Tavern