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La URSS from Andalusia, Spain are a band that just keep getting better and better with each release and their third album, Maravillas del Mundo, is no exception. Released to coincide with their upcoming tour of the eastern half of the US, Maravillas del Mundo is a brilliant album -- well developed and dynamic. Fans of their previous releases already know that their live shows and recordings are top notch. This is melodic punk rock with heavy influences from Spanish greats like Paralisis Permanente, Larsen, KGB and La Uvi. Excellent guitar work and musicianship, lyrics and artwork put this album over the top -- their best work to date.
Our take: Third LP from this excellent Spanish band who have toured the US several times over the past few years. It's confusing to me as to why La Urss aren't huge... I mean, what other band with three LPs and as much touring as this band has done over the past few years has remained as underrated as La Urss? I defy anyone to tell me that the quality of the music is at issue. With previous releases on Todo Destruido and this release on Discos MMM, La Urss has support of two of the best labels in the US, and if you follow those labels closely you know they don't put out junk. The only thing I can really think of is that there's a certain unpretentiousness to La Urss's presentation. It's not as if either the band or the records don't look cool (the layout on this new one in particular is absolutely top-notch, and the band is a live force to be reckoned with), but at the same time there's nothing that's drawing unnecessary attention to the band. It's as if La Urss are just saying "we write songs... enjoy them or don't." They don't seem to really care whether you like them or not. Similarly, the songs themselves are devoid of the kinds of broad gestures that attract a listener's immediately attention. Their records, this one included, are slow burns. They tend to bounce along at a more or less uniform tempo, and melodies distinguish themselves from one another slowly. However, these are well-crafted, brilliantly performed and recorded songs. If you're into the whole melodic, Wipers-informed punk sound that so many bands have attempted over the past few years this is one of the best examples of the style, and for my money they blow away pretty much any band whose influences clearly don't go much deeper than the Vicious and the Wipers. La Urss's lack of pretension probably means that they'll continue to be a treasured secret of the select few who are paying attention, but if you aren't currently one of those people I highly encourage you to join the club.