Number Girl entered the indie rock scene in Japan back in 1995. After releasing a few
demos, they signed to an obscure indie label and released the epic School Girl Bye Bye
debut album.
It was (and still is)under-appreciated in almost every aspect. It gets tossed off as being
"too derivative" or "too happy." To make matters worse, the record is becoming rare to
find. Since the production of this album is taken care of by a rather obscure Japanese
indie label, not enough people own the record to give it the justice it deserves.
When I first heard of the band (I was checking out Asian Kung-fu Generation when I found
the wiki article for Number Girl) I didn't expect much. At the time I thought Japanese
rock was strictly limited to power pop and death metal. I was so wrong. I put on "Omoide
in my Head" and was immediately blown away.
The album is both listenable and grating at the same time. The riff of "Ooatari no
Kisetsu" is instantly memorable. The chorus of "Sentimental Kajou" is uplifting and
simultaneously melancholy. "September Girlfriend" will make your ears bleed, but you'll be
banging your head to the raw energy of the driving drums and distorted melodic bass. I
could go on and on with the highlights because I feel that there are no truly weak tracks
on the album; Shutoku Mukai was always a genius with songwriting. I love the lo-fi 4-
track production and the heavily-reverbed vocal sound of the album. To top things off, the
drums are distorted a lot of the time! It was a sound I had never heard before. Check this
out; you won't regret it. Don't take people's negative words toward this album. Yes,
Number Girl's other albums are also great, but they were never the same after this. (for
better and for worse) This is great music in its own right and cannot be considered
generic; the song craft is too memorable for that.
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