A Lot on My Crate

When it comes to challenging listens, URGH is one. The first album from 2026 that got a hold of me by the neck is this industrial beast spearheaded by a band from Manchester, UK that goes by the name Mandy, Indiana. This is their sophomore album and the band was already hailed as a force to be reckon with as their debut placed them on the map as one that pushes the edge to stop their audience in their tracks and pay attention to the noise, the power electronics, and the charisma this band has locked and loaded in their chamber. There is a certain kind of magic behind the synths that shakes the room and frontwoman Valentine Caulfield’s vocals, despite me not knowing a lick of French. Yes, this album is mostly spoken in French (except a Billy Woods feature and the last song with good reason ) and her timbre plays into the dance club aspect, but Caulfield’s vocals are still aggressive to the point that it’s liberating and an important component for this visceral experience. The band shared with Brookyln Vegan, that the album is influenced by films that all have a certain aesthetic that is dark and broodingly intense. For my recent listens, I’ve been on an industrial streak lately for my love of noise and here comes the incredible single, “Cursive” has popped up in front of me and then the rabbit hole goes further from there. Since this album is industrial rock, it can be polarizing for some as this is a challenging and brutal listen. I say challenging, yet is a much rewarding to listen to, as the noises and grooves gives me an agency that I didn’t know I had. Online discussion has URGH being compared to Death Grips and I can see why that is, since there are some hip hop elements, and I looooove to jam to Death Grips. If you’re not into abrasive noise, then this album is not for you, but if no such barrier exists, then jump on this album. It has great vocals, synth grooves, and cathartic clashing of noise that makes you get disoriented and lash out. Atmosphere is what has been brought to the table for all us non-French speakers.

And right out the gate! This noisy, distorted hip hop beat on “Sevastopol” is the first litmus test on your tolerance of this LP. The power electronics and horrific synths coming together with an auto-tuned Caulfield to make this industrial genre come alive. I’ve been searching for more harsh yet structured sounds like this and I’m glad I arrived at the right place. It goes from one to a hundred as we approach to a crescendo of these hellish synths and we resume the club dancing on “Magazine”. This banger is absolutely crushing the insides. There’s this hilarious vocal sample of “Honey, is that you?” playing in tempo with this sick beat, distant snares, and Caulfield’s rapping on “Try Saying”. Then it seamlessly goes into “Dodecahedron”, which sounds like some sort of nightmare march.

“A Brighter Tomorrow” lightly pumps the brakes, but maintains these horror vibes as the record goes into a trance. It sounds like a wind howling along with Caulfield’s vocals sounding ghostly and somewhat intimate and exotic. This track warmed up to me and has now got me hypnotized after a few listens. One of the movie influences has seeped through the cracks with “Life Hex” starting out with a movie sample from a 90s cult classic, “The Craft”, as the band’s synths and vocals echoes out, yet they seem so far away. “ist halt so” (translated loosely to “that’s the way it is” from German), brings back the dance vibes, but is also a hydraulic press of sound just putting the listener under pressure juxtaposed by a wacky synth loop. It then ends with these machine gun like primal hand drum passages and stuttering distorted synths.

The last act of the record ends very strong, starting with “Sicko!”. The Death Grips influence allegations cannot be stopped here, as it sounds like something Andy Morin would get behind with these bouncy power electronics. It also has a Billy Woods feature, who just kills it as always and is this track’s MC Ride. “Cursive” is probably the catchiest one in this album, albeit still terrifying with this horror horn wailing in the background. Loved this as a single and I now love how this was implemented in the album as I shake my hips side to side at the beat switch. And are those Yoshi in pain sound effects I hear? I smash that repeat button on “Cursive”. However, my favorite song is the best for last and that is “I’ll Ask Her”. So we all agree this album has been a brutal listen to sonically, but “I’ll Ask Her” is brutal to listen to in its subject matter. I understand what Caulfield is saying here, since she’s performing the closer in English. I infer that it is a creative choice, since this is the best way to communicate to her audience that there are monsters among us. So trigger warning, she talks about rape and sexual assault and expresses palpable rage on how the predators and their peers justify every heinous action they’ve done. This is all juxtaposed to this growling beat and shrieking, distorted guitar pedal. And as the song grows out its tolerance of “boys will be boys”, the instrumental goes into a manic episode, then Caulfield uses the offensive phrase towards victims “they’re all fucking crazy, man” over and over again, and then reflect it back a hundredfold. It is such an empowering voice and is one of the best examples of music being used as a fucking weapon.

Even though, I do like how intense this album is, but there are some caveats for me. The midpoint in my opinion is not as memorable as the book ends of this LP. “Dodecahedron” was getting interesting and kind of just fizzled out for me. “Life Hex” and “ist halt so” just seemed like they were loud, just because they wanted to be and there was not much sticking out to me with the former feeling kind of scant.

As I wipe the sweat off my brow with thy handkerchief, I dare say, this album is absolute fire. Yeah, there are some spots where it’s not as memorable, but the atmosphere the band provides the merit on why voices in the underground have showered them with praise. URGH is a challenging listen, but it is so rewarding, as they were able to engender power within its harshness. This kind of music has expanded my scope on everything that falls on the spectrum. There are groups who can be as loud as they can be, but cannot grab me while I sleep. URGH jolts me awake. It’s colorful chaos. It is an ideal vessel for dissociation. Then we close with animosity in its au revoir.

FAVORITE TRACKS: SEVASTOPOL, MAGAZINE, TRY SAYING, A BRIGHTER TOMORROW, SICKO!, CURSIVE, I’LL ASK HER

LEAST FAVORITE: LIFE HEX

You can purchase this album on Bandcamp and their discography is also available for streaming.

https://mandyindiana.bandcamp.com/album/urgh