Urge Overkill

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• Genre: Power Pop
• Hometown: Chicago
• Urge Overkill Website

About

Originally part of the Chicago indie-boy Touch and Go Hardcore scene, Urge Overkill quickly distinguished itself with a combination of pop smarts and ambitious high/low concept marketing. In an era of flannel, combat boots and ratty hair, the band draped themselves in velvet, sported coiffures, and embraced a sort of sunny Hard Rock hedonism. The band's move towards big, melodically driven riff-rock culminated in their major label debut Saturation, produced by Philly hip-hop producers the Butcher Brothers (better known for their work with Kriss Kross and Cypress Hill). The record hit the charts, and then the band hit again with a muddled cover of Neil Diamond's wonderful "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," which featured prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction. After reaching the precipice of stardom, the band couldn't sustain it. Their second major label effort Exit the Dragon tanked, and the group quietly imploded.

- Tom Heyman