With song titles like "This Heat," "Pop Group" and "Sonic Youth", Tokyo all-girl instrumental trio Nisennenmondai gives out some pretty good hints about their influences.  Luckily, while they incorporate elements from all of the above, Nisennenmondai's sound is all their own.  Blunt, complex, and precise, the band's music has earned the praise of such math rock luminaries pioneers as Battles and Hella, and they have shared stages with OOIOO, Afrirampo, and...

With song titles like "This Heat," "Pop Group" and "Sonic Youth", Tokyo all-girl instrumental trio Nisennenmondai gives out some pretty good hints about their influences.  Luckily, while they incorporate elements from all of the above, Nisennenmondai's sound is all their own.  Blunt, complex, and precise, the band's music has earned the praise of such math rock luminaries pioneers as Battles and Hella, and they have shared stages with OOIOO, Afrirampo, and Buffalo Daughter, along with foreign acts including Battles, The Album Leaf and Kinski.  Named after the Japanese word for "Y2K Bug", the band was formed in 1999, and comprises Sayaka Himeno (drums), Yuri Zaikawa (bass) and Masako Takada (guitar).  Their first release outside Japan, a compilation of two EPs entitled Neji/Tori, dropped in July 2008 on the Smalltown Supersound label out of Norway.  A heavy, noisy affair, the record catapulted the band to fame in noise rock circles, and received positive reviews in the independent music press and the blogosphere.  Nisennenmondai followed up with Destination Tokyo in May 2009, also on Smalltown Supersound.  Slightly quieter with less physicality than its predecessor, Destination Tokyo is equally cerebral, even showing a bit of playfulness from the band.