| Bonito Generation | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 October 2016 (2016-10-21) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:22 | |||
| Language |
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| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Kero Kero Bonito chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bonito Generation | ||||
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Bonito Generation is the debut studio album by Britishindie pop bandKero Kero Bonito.[2] A follow-up to the 2013mixtape,Intro Bonito,[2] this album was released viaDouble Denim Records on 21 October 2016.[2]Bonito Generation produced six singles: "Picture This", "Lipslap", "Break", "Graduation", "Trampoline", and "Fish Bowl" (the song "Forever Summer Holiday", initially released as its own single in 2017, was later included as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album). Music videos were created for "Lipslap",[3] "Break",[4] and "Trampoline".[5]
In 2011, the producers and multi-instrumentalists Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled posted an advertisement to MixB (an online bulletin board for Japanese expatriates) seeking a musician interested in "Japanese rap". One of the first respondents was Sarah Midori Perry; Lobban and Bulled were intrigued by Perry's artistic background and her fluency in both English and Japanese, and the three agreed to form a band that they dubbed "Kero Kero Bonito".[6][7] After a string of singles, the group released their debutmixtape,Intro Bonito throughDouble Denim Records in August 2014.[8][9]
Following the release ofIntro Bonito, Kero Kero Bonito began working on their debut studio album, which they intended to release in 2015.[10] The band wanted this release to be "a bit more songwriter-y, rather than just disjointedbasslines andriffs", and they had hoped to collaborate with underground pop musicians, such as the producers affiliated with thePC Music art collective.[11] By October of 2015, however, the album had not yet materialized, and the band disclosed toStereogum journalist James Rettig that they were still "figuring out what kind of statement they wanted to make" with the record.[12]
When conceptualizing the record, the members of Kero Kero Bonito placed great care on ensuring that the recorded had "flow" and that "all the right elements [were] in the right places".[12][13] In an interview withDIY magazine, Lobban likened this challenge to solving atiling puzzle: "You start off with a few pieces, and think 'oh that’s the corner', and 'that's this guy's hand', and then as you come up with more things, and end up only needing one more piece that looks kind of like this. It's very much like a jigsaw, actually."[13]
Bonito Generation was completed at the beginning of August 2016, having been in the works for over a year.[13]
Bonito Generation has been described to be anelectropop,[14]J-pop,[15] andsynth-pop record,[16] with influences fromelectro,dancehall,video game music,'90s dance,hip hop, andK-pop.[17][18][19][15][20] It has also been compared to thehyperpop sounds of PC Music andSophie.[20] Themes of the record also touch uponInstagram, hearing acatchy song on the radio, trampolines, waking up, childlike perspective upon day-to-dayexistential crises, and the curiosity of youth.[15][17]
Bonito Generation was released on 21 October 2016 byDouble Denim Records,[20] whereupon it peaked at number nine on the USWorld Albums Chart (Billboard).[21] On 12 July 2017,Bonito Generation was released for the Japanese market by theSony Music Entertainment Japan subsidiary label Around the World.[22] Following the band's signing toPolyvinyl Record Co.,Bonito Generation was re-issued on 11 January 2019,[23] whereupon it peaked at number 15 on the US Vinyl Albums Chart (Billboard).[24]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4/10[25] |
| Metacritic | 81/100[26] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [20] |
| Clash | 9/10[15] |
| DIY | [19] |
| The Guardian | [18] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   [27] |
Bonito Generation was met with positive reviews from critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the release has anaverage score of 81 based on seven reviews, meaning that it has received "universal acclaim".[26] Fellow music aggregator AnyDecentMusic? likewise gave the album an average score of 7.4/10, based on eight reviews.[25]
Reviewing the album forAllMusic, Heather Phares wrote, "Packed with breezy, witty, should-be hits,Bonito Generation is a winning mix of subversive art and genuine heart."[20] Joe Rivers ofClash stated, "Theproduction is disarmingly joyous and, thanks to a predilection for early '90s dance, some of the tracks here are absolute bangers."[15] Jamie Milton ofDIY magazine opined that the band had "perfected the quick fix formula" with the album, which included "a dozen giant would-be singles".[19] While Milton wrote that the album "crams together a bunch of massive singles, melted into a sometimes grating dose ofglucose," the review concluded that "that's the compromise for penning twelve monster hits."[19] Milton also complimented the band for not "taking the piss" with the album and instead earnestly embracing their act.[19]
Kate Hutchinson ofThe Guardian wrote that "Their no-fat nuggets have the hyper-slickness ofkawaii J-pop, while harking back to an era (the 90s, obv) when high-concept chart hits were as ubiquitous as boy bands' curtains".[18] However, she noted, "Their songs are best when they stop being sosatirically cutesy and zip somewhere else."[18]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Waking Up" |
| 2:57 |
| 2. | "Heard a Song" | Lobban | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Graduation" |
| 3:19 |
| 4. | "Fish Bowl" |
| 1:45 |
| 5. | "Big City" |
| 2:52 |
| 6. | "Break" |
| 3:17 |
| 7. | "Lipslap" |
| 3:39 |
| 8. | "Try Me" |
| 3:29 |
| 9. | "Paintbrush" |
| 0:57 |
| 10. | "Trampoline" |
| 4:03 |
| 11. | "Picture This" |
| 3:23 |
| 12. | "Hey Parents" |
| 3:22 |
| Total length: | 36:22 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Forever Summer Holiday" |
| 3:35 |
| 14. | "Picture This" (Felicita Remix) |
| 2:55 |
| 15. | "Fish Bowl" (Frankie Cosmos Remix) |
| 1:44 |
| 16. | "Heard a Song" (CFCF Remix) | Lobban | 4:05 |
| 17. | "Trampoline" (Saint Etienne Remix) |
| 3:48 |
| 18. | "Lipslap" (Makeness Remix) |
| 3:57 |
| 19. | "Break" (Jonah Baseball Remix) |
| 2:24 |
| Total length: | 58:50 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Break" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Lipslap" | 4:02 |
| 3. | "Trampoline" | 3:59 |
| 4. | "Forever Summer Holiday" | 3:58 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofBonito Generation.[28]
Kero Kero Bonito
| Technical
|
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US World Albums (Billboard)[21] | 9 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[24] | 15 |
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Catalog no. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | CD | Double Denim Records | DD028 | [20] |
| Digital download | Not on label | ||||
| Japan | 2017 | CD | Around the World | SRCP-436-7 | [28] |
| SRCP-438 | |||||
| UK | 2018 | LP | Not on label | [29] | |
| Worldwide | 2019 | LP | Polyvinyl Record Co. | PRC-375 | [20] |
| CD | |||||
| Cassette | |||||
| Digital download | — | ||||
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| Studio albums | |
| Mixtapes | |
| EPs | |
| Featured singles | |
| Related articles | |
