While most immersed in American independent rock music remain content in being the poster children of the aloof aesthetic, Lilys frontman Kurt Heasley exudes persona. On stage, Heasley is wide-eyed and wacky. His banter between songs is rife with non-sequitors delivered in a quasi-Brit accent. It's hard to believe that Heasley's sincere in his zaniness; it feels contrived, theatrical, and distracting. Regardless of how great the incarnate of the Lilys' revolving member base plays, Heasley's act adds an air of distaste, invariably tainting the live show.

In the studio, though, Heasley comes off with minimal eccentricity and obnoxiousness. Time to record means time to play it straight, which Heasley has shown he can do remarkably well. Though his lyrics may take turns for the off-kilter, the guy plays his Kinks/Who/Stones revivalist pop without a trace of irony or retro-kitsch.

After 1999's decidedly hi-fi The 3 Way, Heasley meandered in the bleeps and blips that today's technology provides on Zero Population Growth, an entry in Darla Records' acclaimed Bliss-Out series. Next, some unreleased cuts from 1995 were dusted off for last year's split EP with Aspera Ad Astra. And finally, we ended up here, at Selected. The record marks the first new studio material we've heard from Lilys in over a year and a half, in the form of a 17-minute EP. But whereas EPs generally function to satiate fans between full-lengths, Selected feels calculated to leave stomachs growling.

This comes largely from the fact that three of these five songs aren't even new compositions; "The Any Several Sundays" and "Won't Make You (Sleepy)" are recordings of some forgotten tunes from the band's early live days. Nonetheless, an interesting dynamic is achieved through the now-seven-piece British revival junkies playing tunes that were written during their distinctly different shoegazing days. The crunchy, reverberating guitar that opens "The Any Several Sundays" is testament to how well the new Lilys can work with material left from the old Lilys; the track becomes psychedelic neo-Invasion guitar pop. Its fuzzy production also reduces the saccharine factor that too often has a symbiotic relationship with the infectious melodies Lilys tend to present.

"Won't Make You (Sleepy)" is an even better dreamy, subdued merging of sounds. The production here is still hazy, a small-scale take on the Wall of Sound wherein Heasley's vocals are mixed extremely low. His soft, sincere croon is merely another layer of stuffing in a warm and fluffy cushion of a song. Equally influenced by the Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine, "Sleepy" proves there is indeed a place where the fuzzy and beautiful live in melodic splendor.

During its brief runtime, though, Selected loses its way. "Touch the Water" is an Apples in Stereo song that Heasley co-wrote and previously performed on the Lilys' Returns Every Morning single. This take on the Banana Splits-meets-Super Furry Animals jangle pop is slightly slower, a bit out of focus, and mostly unnecessary, as it does little to improve on the two previously existing versions. "Peerless" and "Peerless II" both clock in at less than two minutes and seem suspiciously like filler. "Peerless" consists of a piercing sustained note, possibly played backwards at a high speed. "Peerless II" is no better, sporting two atonal (referred in the liner notes as "microtonal") guitar riffs at odds over white noise. While filler of any sort is by definition unnecessary, it's ludicrous on a release as short of this one, and its inclusion seems a botched effort to illustrate sonic deviation.

Selected offers only a fraction-of-a-second glimpse into what the Lilys are up to now. It barely has the power to even whet the appetites of fans, ravenous for new material from the band. Despite Selected's excellent moments, it's the sort of release best suited for completists eager for new and rare material. Still, even to diehard fans, it will ultimately feel incomplete.

-Richard M. Juzwiak