The four, all in their early twenties, drew inspiration from 1980s American indie, taking cues from Hüsker Dü and Pixies among others, and sometimes nodded to their influence via lyrics or song titles ('Iggy Pop Fan Club'). Number Girl offered glimpses of what they would become across two self-released cassette tapes and their 1997 indie debut School GirlBye Bye: Mukai’s larynx-ripping singing, Tabuchi’s commanding guitar solos, and a lyrical fixation on adolescence. He reached out to other musicians in Fukuoka-a city resting far south from the glitz of Tokyo-and found guitarist Hisako Tabuchi, bassist Kentaro Nakao, and drummer Ahito Inazawa. Mukai formed Number Girl in 1995, but his initial lineup dissolved quickly.

Universal Music Japan is reissuing the group’s three major-label albums this month, a trio of work still looming large over the country’s rock scene and among the best music to come out of the country in recent memory.

This wasn’t-and still isn’t-the easiest route to goofy TV interviews and massive festival scream-alongs in Japan, but from 1999 until disbanding in 2002, Number Girl left a deep impression on domestic listeners and carved out a cult following abroad. They played fast and abrasive music prone to sudden tempo changes, with guitarist and lead vocalist Shutoku Mukai’s snarled vocals adding extra force and honesty to their feedback-bludgeoned songs.

Yet as 2000 came into view, the mood started to change, as what many now label the ' Lost Decade' came of age and music sales peaked in 1999, in decline ever since.Īmidst all this pre-millennial tension, a quartet reared on distortion called Number Girl landed on major label EMI Music Japan and spiked the nation’s rock scene for good. The economy held strong and Japan had fostered a 'cool' image globally, reflected in the slick Eurodance-inspired songs being exported across the continent and the jet-setting sampledelica of Shibuya-kei, highlighted by genre heavyweights Cornelius and Pizzicato Five who landed on U.S. As the 1990s crawled to a close, the Japanese music industry-and the nation as a whole-was at a crossroads.

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