Nisennenmondai Neji/Tori

Comprised of "three tiny, diminutive women” from Tokyo, Nisennenmondai are an inconspicuous noise force. Championed by bands like No Age, Lightning Bolt and Battles during trips to Japan, the trio have found an audience in North America after countless self-released CD-Rs, two of which are compiled here as Neji/Tori. As humble as they are powerful, Sayaka, Yuri and Masako celebrate their influences, going so far as to credit them as song titles in the case of "Pop Group,” "This Heat” and "Sonic Youth” — all names that should give you a sense of how these three bodies spasm musically. Not unlike the relentless assaults of fellow Japanese peers Afrirampo, Nisennenmondai, however, control their random noise bursts and direct them accordingly, mostly squeezing them inside no wave-brand improvisations ("Kyaaaaaaa”), heavy psych explosions ("Ikkkyokume”) and Krautrock-flavoured flares ("Kyuukohan”). Neji/Tori is some raw and visceral stuff that comes from the land where noise reigns supreme. (Smalltown Supersound)