Urusei Yatsura

Lo-fi Scottish popsters Urusei Yatsura (aka Yatsura in Japan and the U.S. due to legal issues the Japanese comic book and cartoon franchise of the same name) comprised singers/guitarists Fergus Lawrie and Graham Kemp, bassist Elaine Graham, and her brother, drummer Ian. Formed in Glasgow during the early ’90s, the band soon debuted with “All Hail Yatsura,” a 12″ issued on the Hipster label; a series of incredibly noisy gigs as well as an electrifying John Peel radio session helped bring them to the attention of Ché Records, which released the single “Siamese” in early 1996. After a pair of EPs, Plastic Ashtray and Stunray EP, Yatsura issued their first full-length, the U.K. indie chart-topping We Are Yatsura; the Strategic Hamlets EP followed in early 1997, while the subsequent Pulpo! compiled the group’s many stray singles tracks and B-sides. Two more singles, “Fake Fur” and “Hello Tiger,” preceded the 1998 full-length Slain by Yatsura. Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura arrived in 2000 on the group’s own Oni label, but the band split a year later. Kemp pursued a solo career, while Lawrie and the Grahams formed Projekt A-Ko, which released Yoyodyne in 2009. Lawrie also founded the drone band Angel of Everyone Murder in 2011, and issued three albums of lengthy improvisations over the course of that year and 2012. You Are My Urusei Yatsura, a collection of BBC Radio Sessions from throughout the group’s career, arrived in 2016 on Rocket Girl. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi