Oxz
Along Ago: 1981-1989
A comprehensive catalog reissue of Japan's OXZ, a band at the forefront of the country's female punk/new wave music in the 1980s. 'Along Ago: 1981-1989' collects the band's entire catalog - three EPs and a single - alongside unearthed, unreleased demos. Formed in 1982, OXZ (pronounced ox-zed) were an all-female Japanese trio from the Kansai region who made moody dark post-punk ahead of their time. While the '80s were an exciting time for music in Japan, it was also a time when women's rights, though a topic of conversation, were not widely visible in the real world and there were very few women in the underground music scene. Cue Hikko, Mika, and Emiko, aka OXZ, dressed like punks, dyed hair and all, outwardly declaring independence from the usual rules. Needless to say, they were intentionally shocking.