Talking Heads, although these influences would seldom emerge prior the band's final album. With their 1999 release, "School Girl Distortional Addict", Number Girl moved towards a much heavier sound somewhat reminiscent of post-hardcore. Their 2000 album "Sappukei" built on its predecessor, but incorporated a more ethereal quality characteristic of producer Dave Fridmann. Traditional Japanese music influence was also found in songs such as "Urban Guitar Sayonara". Number Girl's final album, "Num-Heavymetallic" continued the fusion of post-hardcore and traditional Japanese music, showing Mukai's evolving musical sensibilities fully expressed in Zazen Boys. Shutoku's vocal style is one of the band's most distinctive traits, a combination of shaky singing, aggressive growls and screams, spoken word, and occasional rapping. Although most lyrics are in Japanese, his strong songwriting was one of the band's most critically lauded aspects. Shutoku's early lyrics dealt with conventional themes such as high school and girls, reflecting adolescent aggression rather typical of nineties hard rock; however, with later albums, Mukai would begin exploring deeper lyrical themes, such as disillusionment with Japanese culture and harsh social criticism, that distinguished Number Girl from their peers. Legacy Many bands have cited NUMBER GIRL as an inspiration, including Base Ball Bear, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, tricot, Kinoko Teikoku, Ling tosite Sigure, kafka, TOUMING MAGAZINE, MINOR SCHOOL and ART SCHOOL. They are considered one of the biggest names in Japanese indie rock scene of the late 1990s to early 2000s. Members (born October 26, 1973) - guitar, vocals (born December 9, 1975) - guitar (born June 17, 1974) - bass (born June 6, 1973) - drums Discography Albums School Girl Bye Bye (November 6, 1997) School Girl Distortional Addict (July 23, 1999) Sappukei (July 19, 2000) Num-Heavymetallic (April 26, 2002) Compilation albums (March 2, 2005) (June 22, 2005) (June 22, 2005) (December 14, 2005) Live albums Shibuya Rockstransformed Jōtai (December 16, 1999) (January 29, 2003) (July 24, 2019) Singles "Drunken Hearted" (August 20, 1998) (May 26, 1999) "Destruction Baby" (September 26, 1999) "Urban Guitar Sayonara" (May 31, 2000) (November 29, 2000) "Num-Ami-Dabutz" (March 30, 2002) "I Don't Know" (April 8, 2002) DVD (June 20, 2001) (April 26, 2003) (September 28, 2005) References External links Mukai Shutoku website Japanese rock music groups Japanese indie rock groups Japanese alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Fukuoka Prefecture