Brothers from Shillong who came together to play some tunes in 2011, tell us something about family and music like few others. And it is all heard in the music, which is probably not entirely intentional. Dossers Urge, comprising three brothers David (guitars and vocals), Romeo (bass) and Gideon (drums), are so locked in on their debut full-length album Honest Rage that it’s exactly what you want from Indian indie.
In 10 tracks, there is an ebb and flow in their moods as they plough through garage rock rhythmic patterns laced with everything from Math Rock to make us dance and Psychedelic Rock to stay tripped out to crunching riffs to head-bang and of course, pop hooks to make you sing along. Honest Rage is pretty much something for every rock lover. They start off with the flittering melodic ‘Erase’, and follow it up with the instrumental ‘Stoned’ (which needs no explanation) and go into the poignant ‘Mother’, where David croons in his most wistful voice, “When I’m far away, all I ever need is your love.”
One of their earlier claim-to-fames is ‘Jinx’, its robotic rhythm leading to a blistering chorus that makes it an instant favourite. David and Romeo noodle around on their fretboards a lot, eventually stomping out riffs on songs such as ‘Experience Love’. At the most it’s reminiscent of classic rock purveyors such as Wolfmother, possibly owing to David’s vocal style. Another early composition, ‘Tick Tick’, leans on pop punk tones and chord progressions. The groovy, instrumental title track ‘Honest Rage’ is a fun jam song that comes across as their most energetic. Guitars scream and create a racket like no other on ‘Rock & Roll’, a lo-fi treat that builds up to ‘Back to the River’, a celebratory all-out rock closer.
While some of Honest Rage could have used more polished approach in terms of production, the noise works to their advantage for the most part. The truth is, Dossers Urge have got the same basic combo of instruments as a lot of other Indian rock bands, but where they thrive is their pace, their accuracy and of course, their freshness. The difference is, they channel lyrical honesty alongside sonic influences like few other bands.
Get the album on Dossersurge.com
