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Punk (Chai album)

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Punk
Studio album by
Chai
ReleasedFebruary 13, 2019 (Japan)
Genre
Length31:06
Label
Chai chronology
Wagama-mania
(2018) 		Punk
(2019) 		Wink
(2021)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[6]
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
DIY[8]
Exclaim!9/10[9]
The Guardian[5]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[4]
Pitchfork8.3/10[10]
Q[11]
The Skinny[12]
Spectrum Culture[3]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[13]

Punk (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by Japanese band Chai. The album was released on February 13, 2019, by Otemoyan Records.[14] It was released on March 15, 2019, in North America and Europe by Burger Records and Heavenly Recordings, respectively.[14]

Composition

[edit]

AllMusic's Tim Sendra felt the record left some of the rap rock influences prominent on PINK behind in exchange for more pop-oriented stylings.[2] Indeed, PUNK dives into several pop-based genres from bubblegum to indie to synth-pop.

Kicking off the record is "Choose Go!", a "punchy" piece of "cheerleader rock",[2] that features "synths that churn like vacuum cleaners."[5] Following is "the pulsing electronic pop"[1] of "Great Job". "Wintime" is "Paramore-plucked, rose-tinted tropic-pop".[12]

"This Is Chai", the record's only song to have its writing credited to all four members, has been called everything from post-punk[10] to Europop[12] to "happily corny handbag house".[2] "Fashionista", along with "This is CHAI", "has some seriously infectious funk woven into its DNA".[4] "Curly Adventure" is a "synth-pop ballad" that "throw[s] heavy metal guitar grind" into its mix.[2]

Accolades

[edit]
Accolades for Punk
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Noisey Top 100 Albums of 2019
97
[15]
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2019
46
[16]
RX Music Best Albums of 2019 (Indie Pop)
5
[17]
Thrillist Top 35 Albums of 2019
20
[18]

Tracks

[edit]
Accolades for tracks from Punk
Publication Work List Rank Ref.
Pitchfork "Fashionista" The 100 Best Songs of 2019
59
[19]

Accompanying music video

[edit]

In 2019, a music video for the eighth track (Curly Adventure) was directed by Sean Solomon, using character designs from band member and visual director Yuuki, in which the video picks a load of eccentric (and surreal)scenes with vibrant colours[20] with the simplistic style of the album's cover, inspired by Peanuts characters and the hyper-stylized Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1970s.[21] The additional credits in the video are storyboards drawn by Evan Red Borja and animation by Sarah Schmidt and Ian Ballantyne.[22]

Track listing

[edit]

All music by Mana and Kana, except where noted. All lyrics by Yuuki, except where noted.

Punk track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Choose Go!"
  • Mana (music)
  • Yuuki (lyrics)
2:42
2."Great Job" 3:15
3."I'm Me" 3:21
4."Wintime"
  • Mana (music)
  • Yuuki (lyrics)
2:39
5."This Is Chai"
  • Chai (music & lyrics)
2:37
6."Fashionista"
  • Mana (music)
  • Yuuki (lyrics)
2:56
7."Family Member" 3:11
8."Curly Adventure" 3:21
9."Feel the Beat" 3:42
10."Future"
  • Mana (music)
  • Yuuki (lyrics)
3:22
Total length:31:06

Personnel

[edit]

Chai

  • Kana – vocals, guitar
  • Mana – vocals, keyboards
  • Yuuki – bass guitar, chorus
  • Yuna – drums, chorus

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Punk
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 50
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] 72

Use in other media

[edit]

A song from the album, "This Is Chai", was featured prominently in an episode of the American television series Better Call Saul in 2020.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "CHAI – PUNK (Burger Records) | God Is In The TV". godisinthetv.co.uk. 11 March 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sendra, Tim. "Punk – CHAI". AllMusic. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Jacobs, Mick (March 19, 2019). "Chai: Punk". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Kuscher, Oliver (March 11, 2019). "CHAI dazzle us on aptly-named new album, PUNK". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Snapes, Laura (March 15, 2019). "Chai: Punk review – harebrained gang bring positive pop vibes". The Guardian. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "Punk by CHAI reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "Punk by Chai Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Siregar, Cady (March 15, 2019). "CHAI – Punk". DIY. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Pearson, Luke (March 12, 2019). "CHAI: Punk". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Kemp, Sophie (March 15, 2019). "Chai: PUNK". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  11. ^ Monroe, Jazz (May 2019). "Chai: Punk". Q (397): 108.
  12. ^ a b c Amour, Cheri (March 12, 2019). "CHAI – PUNK". The Skinny. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  13. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 22, 2019). "Robert Christgau Reviews Charly Bliss' 'Young Enough'". Vice. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Discography". Chai-band.com. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2019". Vice. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Pitchfork. December 10, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  17. ^ Bell, Lindsay; Clemens, Craig; Primiani, Michael (December 20, 2019). "Best Albums of 2019 | RX Music". rxmusic.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  18. ^ Jackson, Dan (December 21, 2019). "Best Albums of 2019". Thrillist. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  19. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2019 | Pitchfork Media". pitchfork.com. December 9, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  20. ^ Wilde, Thomas (1 April 2019). "CHAI – "Curly Adventure" [Video]". The Fire Note. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  21. ^ Breihan, Tom (26 March 2019). "CHAI – "Curly Adventure" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Curly Adventure music video". YouTube. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  23. ^ "CHAIの作品 (すべて)". Oricon. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums [ 2019/02/25 付け ]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  25. ^ "Better Call Saul Soundtrack". Tunefind. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
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