Kleenex Girl Wonder is a long-running indie rock project helmed by Illinois native Graham Smith. Originally populated with musicians from his hometown of Downers Grove, Smith began releasing albums in 1996, beginning with Sexual Harassment and 1997's Graham Smith Is the Coolest Person Alive. A prolific D.I.Y. bedroom pop songwriter who has occasionally been compared to Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard, Smith spent the following decade delivering music under various guises and lineups, sometimes being billed as KGW, Kleen Ex-Girl Wonder, or Graham Smith & KGW. Eventually relocating to New York, Smith released a hefty four-album box set called CMYK in 2006, which was followed two years later by a compendium of unreleased tracks and alternate takes called Yes Boss. Often raw, emotional, and sometimes funny, Smith has continued to churn out songs at a seemingly tireless pace, with highlights like 2010's solo album Accept the Mystery and 2011's band release Secret Thinking. By this point, Kleenex Girl Wonder had coalesced into a fairly stable trio featured Smith on vocals and bass, Thayer McClanahan on guitar, and Matt LeMay on drums. This is the lineup responsible for 2013's Let It Buffer and 2016's ambitious double-LP The Comedy Album. ~ Timothy Monger