Prime Direction Inc.

Although comparisons have been made to the Slits, Nina Hagen and Frank Zappa, think frogs. For frogs are the true inspiration of eX-Girl, the band of three coquettish Japanese women who can't seem to get their minds off the slimy creatures.

When eX-Girl formed in late '97, none of the members had any previous musical experience. But this proved a blessing, allowing the trio of bassist/vocalist Kirilo, guitarist Chihiro and drummer Fuzuki to pursue their musical frog fetish unhindered.

They debuted with Heppoco Pou under the direction of underground legend, producer Hoppy Komiyama, and quickly began to develop a cult following in the Japan and US indie-rock scenes. Combining sometimes atonal, sometimes operatic vocals with dead-heavy rhythm tracks and a space-invaders electronic esthetic, eX-Girl also blew away audiences with their carefully constructed stage show. With original design plastic mini-skirts, beehive hairdos and trademark frog-head masks, eX-Girl blend a performance art approach with an art-rock-meets-punk sound that has both perplexed and entranced crowds at venues such as Austin, Texas' vaunted South by Southwest festival.

With their second album, Kero! Kero! Kero! ("Kero!" is Japanese for the sound frogs make), eX-Girl's budding frog mania came into full bloom. As bassist Kiriko cryptically explained in an interview with Select magazine, "We came to Earth planet from Kero Kero in the Kero Kero warp."

Big When Far, Small When Close followed, outlining the mythology of Planet Kero Kero and paving the way for this spring's release of their latest, Back to the Mono Kero. With songs like "Waving Scientist@Frog King" and "Solid Sates Kerock'n'roll," the new album stays firmly in the Planet Frog camp. But it also offers other gems such as "Cucumber Surrender" with the unforgettable line, "Before you slice him up and make him a meal/Stroke your cucumber. Let him know how you feel."

Back to the Mono Kero release party takes place at Club Asia on June 4. See listings for details.