Ur

Ur, the debut album from Chicago rock outfit Aurochs, seems more like two short albums in one. While many bands lead with a bombastic opener, Aurochs have chosen to start off with a lighter touch, with the gently strummed, heartfelt "Maxwell" and the darker-toned, subtle ballad "11:30 PM". Throughout the first half of the album, Aurochs keep the music quiet though the mood wanders from starkly cynical to claustrophobic, quiet mania, to a sudden burst of optimism (if not outright egotism) in the first half closer, "Everything/Anything" -- and then the riffs begin. The second half drips with riffage at turns euphoric, desperate, and sinister (and in the best passages, all three at once), starting with the searingly cheerful "Facade" and turning more fierce soon after. "Inside" and "The Taste" dip back into the dark complexities explored earlier in the album, and just as quickly jump back out. Some may find back-to-back tracks "Cave Paintings" and "Recessive Potentials" perplexing; the former features doom-tinged heavy guitar-and-bass work paired with incongruously chipper lyrics while the latter is a ferocious, disturbing stomp that seems to, at first blush, glorify Burgess-style ultraviolence and a sort of Caveman-chic ethos. The album closes with an improbably poignant ballad version of Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting".

While most of the songs stand on their own, deeper meanings lurk just below the surface of the lyrics, ready to pounce on any listener who looks for them. While the album spans most of the emotional spectrum, everything is just a bit off kilter. Joyous songs either veer towards uncontrollable, unrealistic positivity, or lurk just above a cynical undertow, while even the most depressive song contains unmistakably optimistic streaks. Amidst the ebb and flow, the one constant is that nothing is ever one hundred percent true. The point seems to be that life is never all good or all bad, it's everything all at the same time, and that's just fine. A closer look at even the more seemingly obvious moments reveals a hidden vein of irony or contrarianism -- but maybe that's just us reading too much into things.

1. Maxwell
2. 11:30 PM
3. In My Blood
4. The Ground
5. Even the Air Is Heavy
6. Everything/Anything
7. Facade
8. Inside
9. The Taste
10. (Spilled) Iron
11. Cave Paintings
12. Recessive Potentials
13. Kung Fu Fighting