Ex-Girl

Discharging potent tunes from their punk rock-driven themes, Ex-Girl gives away vigorous solutions to the alternative punk scene. Ex-Girl formed in late 1997 in Japan, with a three-piece lineup constituted by Kirilo (bass, vocals), Chihiro (guitar, vocals), and Fuzuki (drums). Despite not having any previous musical experience, the Japanese trio started touring the local underground scene and shortly afterwards fixed the attention of producer Hoppy Kamiyama. In 1998, the all-girl trio offered its first studio recording, the album Heppoco Pou, that before long traveled the Pacific and started gaining some airplay at San Francisco's college radio stations. The enthusiasm surrounding the band's rousing themes soon produced enthusiastic results, and in the summer of that same year, Ex-Girl toured both Japan and the U.S. Kero! Kero! Kero!, the group's second album, appeared in 1999, substantiating their resourceful commands and augmenting an always larger fan base. Big When Far, Small When Close, the crew's third studio effort, hit record stores on both sides of the Pacific still in 1999, again with production credits by Kamiyama. Following an extensive European tour alongside Fantomas, one of Mike Patton's side projects, Ex-Girl again entered the studio to record a fourth album. Back to the Mono Kero arrived in 2001, through the Ipecac label, again achieving surprising results, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe. In late 2001, Chihiro parted ways with the band and was replaced by Keiko, formerly with Super Junky Monkey. Still in 2001, the punk ensemble issued yet another full-length album, Revenge of Kero Kero.