This two-disc set of obscure girl bands conveys a lot about young womanhood and pop music in the early ‘60s and beyond. There are Motown-style soul productions, bubblegum dance-fad novelties, and songs about loss, longing and romance in the style of The Ronettes or The Cookies. These singers were working all over the country—in Texas, Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and elsewhere. The tracks were recorded on small, local labels, but the style often demanded big productions—vibes, backing singers, horns, strings, organ and complicated arrangements—which could be challenging to pull off with limited budgets. The lyrics had their own set of almost-stock scenarios: girls whose parents didn’t approve of a bound-to-no-good boyfriend, the desire for crushes to be reciprocated, the tragedy of love that’s grown cold and all of the varieties of loneliness. All the while, a certain chastity was generally projected. Songs were tailored for sock hops, military bases and amusement parks. Some of the bands blend bits of doo-wop with exotica, a nascent garagyness, Latin rhythms and jazzy touches. And while most of these singers receded into obscurity, some went on to achieve fame with other groups. As with most Numero Group productions, this set is an impressive display of archival sleuthwork and pop-culture scholarship. The accompanying booklet contains dozens of interesting stories about unknown regional labels and artists. A few of these young singers were essentially runaways, and there’s a wild energy that surges through some of these recordings. Listen to Vickie & The Van Dykes’ “I Wanna Be a Winner,” which has strange dub-echo effects on the vocals and slightly crazed growls that sound a little like a proto Biz Markie. Other oddities include the gender-switched “Gloria” copy, “Melvin” (“M-E-L-VI-N!”), by The Belles. But it’s not all camp, as the The Monzas’ “Where Is Love” and Bernadette Carroll’s Dusty Springfield-ish contributions prove. Ironically, many of these songs of female empowerment, emotion and agency were written and produced in an environment of exploitation by male label owners, songwriters or producers. Given the societal and industry constraints, this set conveys a surprising richness in the underground American girl group mini universe.