Pop Songs Pick: Urusei Yatsura
Meet the Noisy Indie-Rock Band from Glasgow Who “Lean Into Failed Art”
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About Radio
“Pop Songs…” is a radio show hosted live on SPACE 101.1FM in Seattle (or streaming anytime you want to listen on Mixcloud). I co-host the show with my partner, Sean and we play lo-fi DIY gems, glittery pop hits, and other under-the-radar pop tunes. Each episode we feature a special guest who tells us about one of their favorite obscure pop songs, and on Three Imaginary Girls I’m going to write more about our special guest. This week, it’s Graham Kemp from the amazing Urusei Yatsura!
RIYL: Lo-fi indie-rock with a cheeky disposition that fills your ears with cathartic guitar fuzz.
Meet Urusei Yatsura
I’m a sucker for bands that are really good at the “loudQUIETloud” thing. Urusei Yatsura temper their Pixies bravado with a shrug of Sonic Youth cavalierness and a dash of Pavement-style seduction to create a unique sound that makes me growl and purr at the same time.
They’re a self-described “geek-rock band,” and their unusual name lends itself to that. In an interview, Graham Kemp (vocals, guitars) explained that they weren’t “the cool kids.” They were “off to the side, playing loud raw music with the wrong notes.” And that, in a way their music leans into “failed art.” The result is charismatic geek-rock with beguiling and defiant poppy choruses.
(Aside from author: As an aficionado of the lo-fi, DIY, and obscure, the term “failed art” is now a term of endearment for me.)
The band formed in Glasgow in 1993 and quickly grew into their lo-fi indie-rock sound. They released three full-length studio albums, a number of EPs and singles, and four Peel Sessions (with legendary BBC DJ and tastemaker John Peel) before calling it quits in 2001.
How my love affair with Urusei Yatsua began
I first found Urusei Yatsura in the import bins of my favorite record store in Phoenix, Arizona in the mid-1990s (I will always heart you, Stinkweeds!). The cover art for their Plastic Ashtray and All Hail Urusei Yatsura releases told me everything I needed to know about the band.
The Plastic Ashtray EP is cute yet scrawled with purposeful artful strokes against a punk-rock-pink background.
The All Hail Urusei Yatsura EP has white drawings and typewriter text on a solid black background, likely meant to appeal to the more adventurous indie-zine kids who like a dash of sugar in their loud, raucous indie-rock.
Song titles like, “Yatsura Kill Taster” (on Plastic Ashtray) and “Death 2 Everyone” and ‘Teenage Dream (Proved Fucked & Wrong)’ (on All Hail Urusei Yatsura) piqued my interest.
The liner notes revealed that all this came from Glasgow, Scotland and features Elaine Graham on bass (little known fact, a female bass player elevates any band) — sealed the deal.
Ever since that first listen, I’ve wanted to share this band with everyone on every mixtape I’ve made.
I recently had the wonderful joy of having Graham Kemp (guitar, vocals) of Urusei Yatsura as a guest on the most recent episode of Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About — the weekly-ish radio show my hubs and I host. You can scroll way down to see the full setlist, but first, I’ve got a bit more intel on the band — keep reading!
Ok, what’s the deal with the band name?
Pronounced: yr·oo·say yat·syur·uh
When the band chose Urusei Yatsura as their band name in 1993, the Urusei Yatsura comic book series was just beginning and not well known at all. It had the DIY, underground, slightly nerdy aesthetic that fit the band vision.
Well, who knew that THAT comic book series would grow into a very popular cartoon phenomenon? And that it would one day require the band to modify their name to avoid legal-ish hassles?
The end result is that band is “officially” known as just Yatsura in Japan and the U.S. Rather than adding something to their name for use in the U.S. — like London Suede or Dinosaur Jr. — they just shortened their name. But, to solidify my superfan of the band status, I will continue to refer to them as their local Scottish fans (and their great Bandcamp page that a bunch of unearthed releases available!) do, as Urusei Yatsura.
TLDR: I suggest you check both the “U” and the “Y” sections of the record store bins for their stuff. You will be handsomely rewarded!
In a recent interview, Graham Kemp (guitar, vocals) was asked if he ever thought the band name hampered their success — mainly that DJs might not have played them because the DJs were intimidated to pronounce their name.
I adore Graham’s response. He explained how he felt about not being played on the radio by DJs who were too intimidated to pronounce the name…
“That that was part of the fun of it. We didn’t choose the band name with any thought that we’d ever get played. Marketing wasn’t something we were thinking about. I still like the name.
It stopped us from becoming too popular… and from acquiring heroin habits… which stopped us from becoming just ludicrous people… so in the end it’s definitely worth it. My life is definitely better now for not being “back announced” by DJs. I’m sure it’s all turned out fine.”
It’s all turned out fine: The story of (the band) Urusia Yatursa
The Urusei Yatsura story began when Graham Kemp (instruments) and his friend Fergus Lawrie (guitar, vocals) were attending the University of Glasgow. They bonded over Galaxy 500 fandom and going to Ride and Slowdive shows. Elaine Graham soon joined as the band’s bassist and her brother, Ian Graham, completed the line-up as drummer.
Geeky paparazzi-style sidenote: You may notice that three of the four band members have “Graham” as either their first or last name). I wonder if Fergus Lawrie felt left out of the Graham-fun? Fergus and Elaine Graham ended up marrying, so not only is it a wonderfully romantic and happy indie-rock storybook ending, but we can also consider him an honorary “Graham” by marriage.
The band’s first recording was the song “Guitars Are Boring.” This song appeared on a compilation released by the Kazoo Club — an indie music venue in Glasgow in the early to mid-90’s. From what I understand, it was in the basement of the 13th Note Café (an iconic venue in Glasgow’s indie scene).
That first song caught the attention of BBC Radio DJ John Peel. In 1994, he made a special trip to Glasgow to see the band. After hearing them play live at the Kazoo Club, he invited them to record a Peel session. As mentioned earlier, the band would go on to record four Peel Sessions in total before their break-up in 2001.
The band released their first album, We Are Urusei Yatsura, in 1996. The roars in “Kewpies Like Watermelon” and the melodic fuzz of “First Day On A New Planet” make this a great full-length album introduction to the band.
The band’s second album, Slain By Urusei Yatsura was released in 1998, and this album featured their only Top 40 hit, “Hello Tiger,” which reached #40 on the UK singles chart. Having their only chart appearance just barely squeezing in at #40 on a Top 40s chart is so wonderfully punk.
The band’s third — and final — studio album, Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura was released in 2000. Each album had its own confident slant. This one was seasoned with a triumphant laid back swagger.
And, in June 2001, the band announced that they were splitting up.
Fast forward to early 2023, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of being a band, with a re-pressing of their debut album, We Are Urusei Yatsura (originally released in 1996). They expanded it into a double vinyl release, complete with b-sides, demos, and unreleased tracks from that era.
And that brings us to where we are today.
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About (Episode 110)
As I flagrantly alluded to earlier, my partner (Sean) and I host a radio show called Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About every Friday night on SPACE 101.1FM in Seattle (or streaming anytime you want to listen on Mixcloud).
We fill our hour-long show with obscure pop songs we love. The kind of songs that you listen to on repeat and can’t believe everyone else isn’t doing the same. Each show features a special guest (usually a person who has written a pop song we *really* love) to share one of their favorite pop songs.
Graham Kemp (vocals, guitar) of Urusei Yatsura was the special guest on our most recent episode (episode #110) and he shared a song by Spare Snare, a band out of Dundee, Scotland (coincidentally the same place as another one of our special guest song picks!). Graham shared how he acquired the limited edition, numbered record that features “Bugs” and why he loves the song so much.
You can go hear this week’s show — complete with Graham’s segment about why he loves this song so much — on Mixcloud (for free, anytime!). If you’ve made it this far into this article, we think you’ll like the song pick, and the episode, too.
Here’s the setlist:
- Bratmobile — “Cheap Trick Record”
- Magnetic Fields — “Deep Sea Diving Suit”
- Colour Me Wednesday — “Horror Story”
- The Pooh Sticks — “Opening Night”
- The Delgados — “Under Canvas Under Wraps”
- Advance Base — “One Red Rose” (John Prine)
- Jeff Mellin — “Smile Like A Lemon Peel, Kiss Like A Paper Cut”
- Half Japanese — “Madonna Nude (Alternate Version)”
- Bis — “Lucky Night”
- Urusei Yatsura — “Hello Tiger”
- Graham of Urusei Yatsura — our “Guest of the Week” shares a favorite obscure pop song (Spare Snare — “Bugs”)
- Hello Saferide — “Highschool Stalker”
- The Wedding Present — “A Million Miles (Locked Down and Stripped Back version)”
- Panic Pocket — “Get Me”
- The Boy Least Likely To — “It Could’ve Been Me”
- Amy Rigby — “The Trouble with Jeanie”
- Math and Physics Club — “Road Carry Me Home”
- Urusei Yatsura — “Plastic Ashtray”
Thanks for listening!
About Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About
Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About is a radio show hosted by me (Liz) and my husband (Sean). The show spotlights songs that (we think) are fantastic and catchy and give us all the feels. Some are lo-fi DIY gems, others are glittery pop hits, and others are hits that were just ahead of their time. RIYL: Heavenly, Mountain Goats, K Records, knowing about really great songs before your friends. Our radio show airs every Friday from 9p-10p PT on SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle, WA. All of our shows are archived on Mixcloud.com — here you can listen to all of our past shows for free, anytime.
You can follow us on Mixcloud and get a lil low-key email letting you know when we publish a new show.
Introducing Three Imaginary Girls
Calling all fans of indie-pop, Brit-pop, lo-fi, and general music fun! Three Imaginary Girls is looking for writers and readers, and we’d love to have you join us. Come by and say hello!
