ENDANGERED SPECIES

Up until now every eX-Girl album was released a year apart. Not much is documented (at least not in English) about the period between this release and the previous album "Back to the Mono Kero", but in that time period the band was changing and their sound was evolving rapidly. At least three of the tracks have a slightly altered line-up (Keikos of Super Junky Monkey in place of original guitarist Chihiro) just as on the preceding EP. Until then the band had always been Kirilo on bass (now with an added "la", Kirilola), Chihiro on guitar and Fuzuki on drums. The rest of the album features new drummer Chapple. And while the album was written and mostly recorded with Keikos, she had other commitments and the album and some of the upcoming live dates were done with another new face, Zorek. Keikos would return within a few months. Now that you are up to speed on that we can get down to business...

"Endangered Species" is quite a bit different than any of the albums eX-Girl had done before, yet is not necessarily a drastic departure. What makes this different from their previous albums? The musicianship for one thing. If you know much about the history of eX-Girl you know that when the band first started out they were all accomplished vocalists, yet had virtually no experience playing instruments and it showed. The instrumentation, while generally very interesting (they received much assistance from producer Hoppy Kamiyama) was clumsy. The new musicians brought in to replace the original guitarist and drummer were quite skilled (Chapple's jazzy chops make a huge difference) and by now Kirilola's performance is that much tighter and more melodic having more solid surroundings.

Aside from better musicianship, this is also eX-Girl's most mature and polished release to date. Just like previous albums most of the songs are made up of simple individual parts that all fit together in a clever fashion. You'll hear 2-3 note/1-3 chord riffs just as with the previous releases but now there is a certain level of finesse that was absent from the band's recorded output up to this time. And just like before there are simple riffs that are played in somewhat awkward time signatures, giving what would normally be overly simplistic a unique and intellectual twist. And you get the same crazy, operatic, genre-bending three vocalist assault as before. Everything to be enjoyed about eX-Girl is here, it just got better.

Besides what the band members themselves bring to the table, Hoppy Kamiyama's contributions also seem that much more refined. There's the beautiful piano from track 6, the string quartet backdrop on the first track and his compositional collaborations with Kirilola (who is the main song-writer this time around) also seem that much better.

So, to summarize: If you've heard any of eX-Girl's albums and have yet the hear this (even if you liked them or not), you need to check this one out. If you haven't heard them and you want to hear quirky, semi-progressive pop music, get this. It's the best thing they put out (leaps and bounds better, believe me) and it's a shame that they have released nothing together since.

Highlights: E-Sa-Ya, Hettakorii no Ottokotou, Venus vs Gas Onna, Resonance

A rare breed indeed.

Lurking in the most unknown of territories on PA, eX-Girl on paper does not sound like a band that has something of anything to do with prog rock. I will readily admit that I hear more J-pop and J-rock than prog rock, but eX-Girl is such a warped version of those genres that I really sit back and take notice. I hear things akin to groups like Mr. Bungle, OOIOO and Koenjihyakkei in places, but eX-Girl are their own ''endangered species''.

The structure of the band a bit more than a power trio (bassist/founder Kiriola takes synth duties) with tremendous outside help from producer/creator Hoppy Kamiyama. While the basic summary of ENDANGERED SPECIES's style is a twisted spin on J-pop, eX-Girl goes for broke pulling in various music styles (I hear prog metal, noise rock, jangle pop, operatic vocals and techno), but does it in a way that doesn't sound jagged or completely nonsensical. ''Hettarkorii no Ottokotou'' is the only song that patches a bunch of genres together (ending on a prog metal excursion) in Mr. Bungle like fashion.

As for other songs, ''Dodo'' and ''Pretty You Ugly'' follow more conventional J-pop wisdom (barring the 11/8 breakdown in ''Dodo''). ''Pujeva'' harkens to Koenjihyakkei in terms of the operatic vocals alternating between techno and buzz-Zeuhl. ''Venus vs. Gas Onna'' is more of a prog track with a bassline Squire would be proud of. ''Mr. Triscuits'' is the highlight being an extended J-pop track with heavy prog overtones; the lowlight belongs to ''Pulse'', a noise tune like what OOIOO might try only more boring.

I'm very fond of this album and wouldn't mind draining my iPod's battery life over it. I choose to reserve my emotions understanding that it leans too much in the pop direction. Those that love Mr. Bungle should find the time to check the band out. Within the scope of avant-prog, eX- Girl one of the best ''fringe'' acts, but overall, they aren't that dominating or convincing of the avantness for me to extol. OOIOO is the band to seek if you want an eclectic challenge in the avant world.