Kleenex Girl Wonder consists of Graham Smith, who "hatched" on July 14, 1979. KGW plays mostly lo-fi "garage pop" with "hip hop influences", which means it sounds nothing like Dashboard Confessional. Smith comes from suburban Chigago, Illinois, and is joined live by drummer Jeff Giba, guitarist Quinn Goodwillie, and bassist Christian Goodwillie (the last two are borthers).
KGW's debut, Ponyoak, is widely regarded as his best work. It was followed by the (bad) concept album Smith, a two CD-set that combines an EP's worth of material with a drama about a boy and his FBI AI program (or something). After Mathematics is a lot better, with an edgier sound that almost blends into rap on some tracks.
Discography:
- Sexual Harassment (1996)
- Graham Smith is the Coolest Person Alive (1998)
- AGAS (Ain't Going Anywhere Soon) (1999, EP)
- Anee Marie (1999, EP)
- Ponyoak (1999)
- Liliput/Kleenex (2001, with Liliput)
- Smith (2001)
- After Mathematics (2002)
NOTE: Recently, Smith has been edited down to one cd and repackaged as
The Smith Album.
Sources: mocrecords.com, marchrecords.com, cd reviews