“WINK is CHAI channeling the energy of a slow year into their fast paced formula”
“Like everyone else over the last near-18 months, CHAI found themselves shut away in their homes, unable to live their lives as freely as they’re used to. When it came time to start work on their third album – and first for legendary label Sub Pop – lockdown influenced the Japanese four-piece’s writing. What started coming out were songs that provided comfort, in many different forms. Album three ”
“In the years since CHAI’s second album PUNK, the cute aesthetic known as Kawaii in Japan – and fetishisation thereof – has gone from being a growing subculture to providing the cogs of the commercial mainstream across continents. While J- and K-pop superstar idol groups and so-termed cute-metal fusion bands like Babymetal and Ladybaby have tugged an interesting sonic sphere from pop’s occasional p”
“The Japanese four-piece pare down their production, with wonderful results”
“The omnivorous Japanese band’s Sub Pop debut exudes a newfound sense of serenity, even as they remain committed to exuberant self-love.”
