You Are My Urusei Yatsura

Arriving nearly 20 years after the release of their debut album We Are Urusei Yatsura, You Are My Urusei Yatsura collects some of the band's finest live performances for the BBC, and serves as a reminder of just how influential a broadcaster could be in shaping the careers of indie bands: One of their early sessions with John Peel got the attention of Ché Records, who released their 1995 single Siamese along with their first two albums. The band's geeky, occasionally chaotic guitar pop was more akin to American acts like Pavement or Weezer than Brit-pop, but sometimes sounded too noisy or too slick on their studio releases. Fortunately, the natural, roomy production on these recordings -- which include selections from their five Peel Sessions, three Evening Sessions with Steve Lamacq, and other BBC appearances -- bring the band's sweetness and abrasiveness into balance, making this collection some of their best-sounding music. You Are My Urusei Yatsura gathers nearly three years' worth of sessions, from a brash 1995 Radio Scotland performance of "Kewpies Like Watermelon" to early-1998 versions of Slain by Urusei Yatsura's "Slain by Elf" and "No No Girl." In between are renditions of many of the band's best-loved songs, including "Plastic Ashtray," "Phasers on Stun," and the Top 40 hit "Hello Tiger." The collection also includes "Dice/Nae Dice," a song written especially for their July 1997 Peel Session. Though it only features music from the first half of their career, You Are My Urusei Yatsura captures the raw excitement of the band at its best. ~ Heather Phares