Slain By Urusei Yatsura

THE best album by the band, out of their 3 and 2 bits released. They really began to embrace and push their indie sensibilities, beefing up the rock quotient to boot. This produced some tracks that are the closest thing to classic that they ever created , Skull In Action remains my own personal favourite

'Glo Starz' is a great opener. A massive riff, like a thunderstorm, whips you away in seconds and doesn't stop. All elements of the band seem in key with each other as well as staying true to their lo-fi/sci-fi/indie/alternative roots .Great chorus. Great riff. Great opener. 'Hello Tiger' is classic in my eyes. Just a fantastic tune. It has the playful tunesmithery of 'Glo Starz' as well as verse/chorus structure. It is actually a slight song but the production and verve all bring it up to a higher plain. 'Strategic Hamlets' actually annoys me a little. It has that almost self-referential irony in it's whiny 'na-na-na-na's and is literally nothing more than a chant. Not bad. Just not great. 'No 1 Cheescake' - great title - is much better. Brilliant, driving chorus with the same effervescent, alive guitars from the beginning of the album. 'Superfi' is ok but didn't light my fire as such. It's quite safe and ordinary and not particularly catchy either. 'No No Girl' is a great ballad. It is very 'Pavement-y' yet holds a great chorus. A perfect marriage of mainstream and indie sensibilities.

'Flaming Skull' works but is another filler track. It's rocky and slightly catchy, but slightly gutless. 'Slain By Elf' on the other hand, is a stone cold classic. From the understated, clean, over-polished opening riff to the fantastic, sneering chorus, it is undoubtedly one of, if not the best track they've written. Cracking stuff. 'King of Lazy' is lo-fi genius and is a lovely, breezy tune. 'Exidor' is another triumph in the merging of radio-friendly and stick-it-to-the-man. One of the best choruses ever. 'Fake Fur' is ok but, again, fails to be as good as the 3 tracks before it. As does 'Skull in Action'. But, 'Amber' is a rather beautiful ending to a rather excellent album.

With a few trims, this could have been flawless but as it stands it's still pretty fantastic. Alas, they were to be around but one album longer.

Glo Starz

Hello Tiger

Strategic Hamlets

No 1 Cheesecake

Superfi

No No Girl

Flaming Skull

Slain By Elf

King Of Lazy

Exidor

Fake Fur

Skull In Action

Amber

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