Number Girl - LIVE ALBUM『感電の記憶』2002.5.19 TOUR『NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC』日比谷野外大音楽堂<レコ

Name: Number Girl - LIVE ALBUM『感電の記憶』2002.5.19 TOUR『NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC』日比谷野外大音楽堂<レコ
Brand: Universal Music
SKU: UPJY-9082/3
Price: 455.0 HKD
Availability: OutOfStock

Genre: INDIE ROCK / POP / FOLK JAPANESE

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Japanese 2LP Limited Edition
Release Date: 3/11/2019
Label: Universal Music

Japanese rock band Number Girl were central figures in the alt-rock and punk movement that emerged from their hometown of Fukuoka in the late '90s. Often compared to U.S. bands such as and , they became one of the most important and influential Japanese rock bands of their generation. The band's key creative driving force was guitarist/vocalist Mukai Shutoku, whose geeky persona and offbeat lyrical style made him a perfect anti-idol for Japanese alternative rock fans. He was joined by bass player Nakao Kentarou and guitarist Tabuchi Hisako, with drummer Inazawa Ahito completing a lineup that would remain steady for the duration of the band's career.

Number Girl first came together in 1995, playing shows around Fukuoka with a sound heavily indebted to 1970s punk rockers like and . Their debut album, Schoolgirl Bye Bye in 1997, showcased a sound frequently compared to U.S. alt-rock bands such as and , but also showed the band developing its own unique identity within the Japanese music scene, with Tabuchi's melodic guitar lines contrasting with Mukai's thin, distorted, and sometimes tortured vocals. In 1998 Number Girl switched their base of operations to Tokyo, with a re-released School Girl Bye Bye coming out on indie label K.O.G.A. Records at the start of 1999; played their first U.S. dates at the SXSW festival that March; and made their major-label debut, School Girl Distortional Addict, later the same year. Musically, it boasted slightly more polished production and tighter musicianship than their debut, but the band's dynamics remained basically unchanged.

On 2000's Sappukei, the band teamed up with producer and started to expand its sound, bringing in additional instruments such as keyboards on some tracks and experimenting with less conventional arrangements and more hard-hitting lyrics. Number Girl's work with also marked the initial flowerings of Mukai's interest in combining elements of traditional Japanese music with contemporary rock, a motif shared with fellow ex-Fukuoka musician Shiina Ringo and one that Mukai would develop further on Number Girl's 2002 album, Num-Heavy Metallic. With again in the producer's chair, the album took the themes hinted at on Sappukei and pushed them to even further extremes. Lead single "Num-Ami-Dabutz" hinted at what was to come, with its funk-influenced bassline recalling post-punk bands like and , and Mukai's vocals expressed in the form of a kind of manic rap-rant.

It turned out to be Number Girl's last album with Nakao, who was the first to jump ship later in 2002 -- and the band called it quits soon after. Nakao and Tabuchi continued making punk and indie rock music in the mold of early Number Girl, with Nakao forming Sloth Love Chunks and joining punk band Spiral Chord, and Tabuchi joining and forming Toddle. Mukai expanded his side project, Zazen Boys, into his full-time band, bringing Inazawa with him at first, before the latter left to concentrate on his new wave/disco-punk revival band, Vola and the Oriental Machine. ~ Ian Martin, Rovi

Japanese 2LP Limited Edition

A1 Num-Ami-Dabutz
A2 鉄風鋭くなって
A3 Sasu-You
A4 Tombo the electric bloodred
A5 Inuzini
A6 Manga Sick
B1 裸足の季節
B2 Cibiccoさん
B3 Frustration In My Blood
B4 Delayed Brain
B5 Destruction Baby
C1 Fight Fight
C2 性的少女
C3 狂って候
C4 黒目がちな少女
C5 Brutal Man
D1 Omoide In My Head
D2 I Don’t Know
D3 Num-Heavymetallic
D4 Eight Beater