LA natives Urgent Care drop a new single entitled, “Melt Away” – a fast pace, four-minute nailbiter that encapsulates the emotive soul of 80s darkwave within the speed of post-punk. Urgent Care pulls out equal parts dance and noise to create a banger filled with glitchy twitches and sharp leads within a strong foundation.
The trio demonstrates that there is no limit to their dark overtones as their sound exemplifies influences: ranging from Liars to Joy Division.
Urgent Care has been the collaborative effort of musical counterparts Guitarist and Singer Sergio Camarena and Bassist Mario De La Cruz. The duo has played together in several projects, but their unanimous evolution has brought them this outfit – an intersubjective world built with a beautifully, ominous sonic structure with a reckoning force. This time around they banded together with drummer Oscar Ruvalcaba (Flamingoes, The Warlocks) to further explore their potential.
Their single, Melt Away immediately puts the listener in a dark hall danceroom with strobe lights. I visualize an eloquent, yet ambivalent setting, where headbanging and soft-grooving steps meet. Although the cathartic power of the speed captivates the room, the soundscape carries a romantic energy that breeds a serene quality: equanimity.
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As they design their world, Camarena creates a sonic confessional canvas with his charming vocals as he pulls out his vulnerability. When asked, he said, “lyrically, it is about letting go of your bad habits and looking for new ways to keep yourself focused,” as he lets us take a peak into his intimate thoughts. However, he additionally employs his guitar to be equally as memorable as his jarring string leads evoke his emotionality and creates an independent vocal ensemble.
Patched with delay and reverb, the guitar tension perfectly blends into the rhythm section as De La Cruz’s hypnotic bass licks infects the commanding strength of Ruvalcaba’s drumming. Their undeniable weight adds density and reinforces the balance of power. Inevitably, the casual dynamic containment navigates the intensity as the rhythm section consciously controls the emotions of the listener.
Urgent Care recorded at Northernmost Boojum Studios, where they decided to approach this recording session differently. De La Cruz said, “the song had so much energy that I didn’t want it to get lost in the technical side.” By not overanalyzing, they served the song by directly focusing on the music and their individualism. I believe this is the reason why the song feels honest and raw. They simply got out of their own way by going back to basics and putting their attention on the fundamentals of why they do what they do: their love for music.
The LA trio is doing what they do best and paying respect to those that came before them. With their influential motivations, they find their own way to say what they want to say without compromising how they see their vision. Although powerful and a definite “must listen,” Melt Away is only the beginning of what’s to come.
Last week URGENT CARE dropped their SINGLES EP — five tracks of tense, post-punk disarray that sound like they were wired together during a blackout.
