This Dismal Village by Urq

What is "Outsider Music"? From Daniel Johnston's self-taught singer-songwriter experiments to The Shagg's accidentally avant-garde garage rock, outsider music isn't so much a distinct genre as it is a broader classification for misfit artists working outside of the restrictions of the music industry. Coming from a similar perspective, we find the new album This Dismal Village by Urq, which discards the trappings of conventional music theory in pursuit of a completely unique artistic vision. This record sounds like a funhouse mirror version of bedroom indie rock, with warbly instrumentals played in a custom tuning, off-kilter riffs inviting the listener deeper into unfamiliar territory. This stylistic choice also reflects the album's themes, satirizing our current situation and imagining fantastatic visions of an absurd utopia. Over a short 20-ish minute runtime, This Dismal Village melts into soft psychedelia, the straight-to-tape recording lending an authentically lo-fi tone to these fever dream songs. Embodying a true DIY ethos, Urq encourages us to value joyful creativity over polished perfection, inspiring us towards artistic expression by any means necessary.