Ex-Girl
“Endangered Species”
(Alternative Tentacles)
Any narrow-minded music lovers out there stop reading here. Go on to one of PR!’s, Huntington’s, Thom C.’s, Greenaway’s or Bushman’s reviews. You won’t like Ex-Girl, I promise, so quit here. For the rest of you open-minded music lovers who embrace the new and give them a chance you will love Ex-Girl. The three lovely ladies claim to be from the planet Kero, but I really think they are from Tokyo. No matter where they are from, their kaleidoscope of music will take more than one listen to understand (and not because a lot of the lyrics are in Japanese).
Their sound is along the lines of a neon-psych-pop-punk-operatic-lounge act. From cutesy girls swishing melodies around in their mouths to angry banshees screaming Japanese obscenities, Ex-Girls cover it all. When the English lyrics kick in and the neon pop dies down, they sound like an old Bikini Kill beating up Sleater Kinney. The genre-bending going on inside Endangered Species has something for everyone, but not everyone will warm to Ex-Girls. Who hear remembers Pizzicato 5? They were the lords of Japanese kitsch-pop, but no one really warmed to them.
Thanks to Alternative Tentacles for letting Ex-Girls fifth LP loose on the U.S. (it is only their second stateside release). Hopefully their frantic beats, crunchy rhythms, schoolgirl vocals and robot threats to Earth will find a spot in the music world’s heart. If not, they can always come stay with me.
