Bonito Generation

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".{{cite web |last=Song |first=Sandra |date=16 September 2014 |title=Going Global with Kero Kero Bonito |url=http://www.imposemagazine.com/features/going-global-with-kero-kero-bonito |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510105558/http://www.imposemagazine.com/features/going-global-with-kero-kero-bonito |archive-date=10 May 2015 |access-date=1 March 2015 |website=Impose}}{{cite web |last=Bulut |first=Selim |date=29 August 2014 |title=Next: Kero Kero Bonito |url=http://www.dummymag.com/features/next-kero-kero-bonito-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901040817/https://www.dummymag.com/features/next-kero-kero-bonito-interview |archive-date=1 September 2014 |website=Dummy}} After a string of singles, the group released their debut mixtape, Intro Bonito through Double Denim Records in August 2014.{{cite magazine |last=Raymer |first=Miles |date=13 August 2014 |title=Get hooked on Kero Kero Bonito's 'Sick Beat' |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2014/08/13/get-hooked-on-kero-kero-bonitos-sick-beat |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095131/http://www.ew.com/article/2014/08/13/get-hooked-on-kero-kero-bonitos-sick-beat |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=1 March 2015}}{{cite web |last=McDermott |first=Patrick D. |date=2 September 2014 |title=Hear London Producer bo en's Cutely Delirious Remix of Kero Kero Bonito |url=http://www.thefader.com/2014/09/02/kero-kero-bonito-my-party-bo-en-remix |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206022501/http://www.thefader.com/2014/09/02/kero-kero-bonito-my-party-bo-en-remix |archive-date=6 February 2017 |access-date=5 February 2017 |website=The Fader}}

Following the release of Intro Bonito, Kero Kero Bonito began working on their debut studio album, which they intended to release in 2015.{{cite web |last=Lismore |first=Kate |date=13 February 2015 |title=Kero Kero Bonito: trading mp3s for sick beats |url=https://diymag.com/2015/02/13/kero-kero-bonito-trading-mp3s-for-sick-beats |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213090627/https://diymag.com/2015/02/13/kero-kero-bonito-trading-mp3s-for-sick-beats |archive-date=13 February 2020 |access-date=13 July 2020 |work=DIY}} The band wanted this release to be "a bit more songwriter-y, rather than just disjointed basslines and riffs", and they had hoped to collaborate with underground pop musicians, such as the producers affiliated with the PC Music art collective.{{cite web|url=https://www.dummymag.com/features/next-kero-kero-bonito-interview/|title=Next: Kero Kero Bonito|work=Dummy Mag|date=29 August 2014|access-date=13 July 2020|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616114219/https://www.dummymag.com/features/next-kero-kero-bonito-interview/|url-status=live}} By October of 2015, however, the album had not yet materialized, and the band disclosed to Stereogum journalist James Rettig that they were still "figuring out what kind of statement they wanted to make" with the record.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1904262/kero-kero-bonitos-radical-positivity-pop/franchises/interview/|title=Kero Kero Bonito's Radical Positivity Pop|work=Stereogum|first=James|last=Rettig|date=20 October 2016|access-date=13 July 2020|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614212725/https://www.stereogum.com/1904262/kero-kero-bonitos-radical-positivity-pop/franchises/interview/|url-status=live}}

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". In an interview with DIY magazine, Lobban likened this challenge to solving a tiling 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."

Bonito Generation was completed at the beginning of August 2016, having been in the works for over a year.{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/2016/10/19/kero-kero-bonito-generation-interview-2016|title=My Generation: Kero Kero Bonito|work=DIY|first=Will|last=Richards|date=19 October 2016|access-date=13 July 2020|archive-date=15 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615014928/https://diymag.com/2016/10/19/kero-kero-bonito-generation-interview-2016|url-status=live}}

Bonito Generation has been described to be an electropop,{{cite web|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/listen-to-kero-kero-bonitos-new-lp-bonito-generation-ice-choir-and-skylar-spence-opening-nyc-show/|title=listen to Kero Kero Bonito's new LP Bonito Generation; Ice Choir and Skylar Spence opening NYC show|work=BrooklynVegan|first=Bill|last=Pearis|date=14 October 2016|access-date=17 May 2017|archive-date=14 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714175221/http://www.brooklynvegan.com/listen-to-kero-kero-bonitos-new-lp-bonito-generation-ice-choir-and-skylar-spence-opening-nyc-show/|url-status=live}} J-pop, and synth-pop record,{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/kero-kero-bonito-time-n-place/|title=Kero Kero Bonito: Time 'n' Place|website=Pitchfork|last=Farrell|first=Margaret|date=16 October 2018|accessdate=16 March 2019|archive-date=3 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103193913/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/kero-kero-bonito-time-n-place/|url-status=live}} with influences from electro, dancehall, video game music, '90s dance, hip hop, and K-pop.{{cite web|title=Review: Kero Kero Bonito, Bonito Graduation|url=http://prettymuchamazing.com/reviews/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-graduation/|website=Pretty Much Amazing|last=Jacobs|first=Mick|date=27 June 2021|accessdate=20 October 2016|archive-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130020837/http://prettymuchamazing.com/reviews/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-graduation/|url-status=live}} It has also been compared to the hyperpop sounds of PC Music and Sophie. Themes of the record also touch upon Instagram, hearing a catchy song on the radio, trampolines, waking up, childlike perspective upon day-to-day existential crises, and the curiosity of youth.

Bonito Generation was released on 21 October 2016 by Double Denim Records, whereupon it peaked at number nine on the US World Albums Chart (Billboard).{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/kero-kero-bonito/chart-history/wlp/|title=Kero Kero Bonito – World Albums|magazine=Billboard|access-date=26 August 2020|archive-date=1 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201003119/https://www.billboard.com/music/Kero-Kero-Bonito/chart-history/WLP|url-status=live}} On 12 July 2017, Bonito Generation was released for the Japanese market by the Sony Music Entertainment Japan subsidiary label Around the World. Following the band's signing to Polyvinyl Record Co., Bonito Generation was re-issued on 11 January 2019,{{cite web|url=https://www.roughtrade.com/us/kero-kero-bonito/bonito-generation|title=Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito|website=Rough Trade|access-date=5 October 2021|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811151319/https://www.roughtrade.com/us/kero-kero-bonito/bonito-generation|url-status=live}} whereupon it peaked at number 15 on the US Vinyl Albums Chart (Billboard).{{cite magazine |title=Kero Kero Bonito – Vinyl Albums |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/kero-kero-bonito/chart-history/vnl/ |url-status=dead |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118025848/https://www.billboard.com/artist/kero-kero-bonito/chart-history/vnl/ |archive-date=18 November 2021 |access-date=23 June 2023}}

{{Album ratings

| ADM = 7.4/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/8341/Kero-Kero-Bonito-Bonito-Generation.aspx|title=Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=23 June 2017|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108071558/http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/8341/Kero-Kero-Bonito-Bonito-Generation.aspx|url-status=live}}

| MC = 81/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/bonito-generation/kero-kero-bonito|title=Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito Reviews and Tracks|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=6 February 2019|archive-date=26 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226010118/https://www.metacritic.com/music/bonito-generation/kero-kero-bonito|url-status=live}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bonito-generation-mw0002985114|title=Bonito Generation – Kero Kero Bonito|first=Heather|last=Phares|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-date=27 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127153102/https://www.allmusic.com/album/bonito-generation-mw0002985114|url-status=live}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 9/10{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation|title=Kero Kero Bonito – Bonito Generation|work=Clash|first=Joe|last=Rivers|date=27 October 2016|access-date=4 February 2017|archive-date=6 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106012614/http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation|url-status=live}}

| rev3 = DIY

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://diymag.com/2016/10/20/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation-album-review|title=Kero Kero Bonito – Bonito Generation|work=DIY|first=Jamie|last=Milton|date=20 October 2016|access-date=4 February 2017|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021122001/http://diymag.com/2016/10/20/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation-album-review|url-status=live}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/20/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation-double-denim-review|title=Kero Kero Bonito: Bonito Generation review – no-fat nuggets of schoolyard dancehall|work=The Guardian|first=Kate|last=Hutchinson|date=20 October 2016|access-date=4 February 2017|archive-date=27 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127175244/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/20/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation-double-denim-review|url-status=live}}

| rev5 = Tiny Mix Tapes

| rev5score = {{rating|4.5|5|full=TMT full.svg|half=TMT half.svg|empty=TMT empty.svg|rating=mark}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation|title=Kero Kero Bonito – Bonito Generation|work=Tiny Mix Tapes|first=Leah|last=Levinson|access-date=4 February 2017|archive-date=29 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029114001/http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/kero-kero-bonito-bonito-generation|url-status=live}}

}}

Bonito Generation was met with positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the release has an average score of 81 based on seven reviews, meaning that it has received "universal acclaim". Fellow music aggregator AnyDecentMusic? likewise gave the album an average score of 7.4/10, based on eight reviews.

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares wrote, "Packed with breezy, witty, should-be hits, Bonito Generation is a winning mix of subversive art and genuine heart." Joe Rivers of Clash stated, "The production is disarmingly joyous and, thanks to a predilection for early '90s dance, some of the tracks here are absolute bangers." Jamie Milton of DIY magazine opined that the band had "perfected the quick fix formula" with the album, which included "a dozen giant would-be singles". While Milton wrote that the album "crams together a bunch of massive singles, melted into a sometimes grating dose of glucose," the review concluded that "that's the compromise for penning twelve monster hits." Milton also complimented the band for not "taking the piss" with the album and instead earnestly embracing their act.

Kate Hutchinson of The Guardian wrote that "Their no-fat nuggets have the hyper-slickness of kawaii J-pop, while harking back to an era (the 90s, obv) when high-concept chart hits were as ubiquitous as boy bands' curtains". However, she noted, "Their songs are best when they stop being so satirically cutesy and zip somewhere else."

{{Track listing

| total_length = 36:22

| headline = Bonito Generation track listing

| title1 = Waking Up

| length1 = 2:57

| writer1 = {{hlist|Jamie Bulled|Gus Lobban|Sarah Midori Perry}}

| title2 = Heard a Song

| length2 = 3:19

| writer2 = Lobban

| title3 = Graduation

| length3 = 3:19

| writer3 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title4 = Fish Bowl

| length4 = 1:45

| writer4 = {{hlist|Lobban|Perry}}

| title5 = Big City

| length5 = 2:52

| writer5 = {{hlist|Lobban|Perry}}

| title6 = Break

| length6 = 3:17

| writer6 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title7 = Lipslap

| length7 = 3:39

| writer7 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban}}

| title8 = Try Me

| length8 = 3:29

| writer8 ={{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title9 = Paintbrush

| length9 = 0:57

| writer9 = {{hlist|Lobban|Perry}}

| title10 = Trampoline

| length10 = 4:03

| writer10 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title11 = Picture This

| length11 = 3:23

| writer11 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title12 = Hey Parents

| length12 = 3:22

| writer12 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

}}

{{track listing

| total_length = 58:50

| headline = Japanese edition bonus tracks{{cite web |url=http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kerokerobonito/info/481903 |script-title=ja:インターナショナルTANOSHIIサウンドのイギリス3人組Kero Kero Bonito、ソニーミュージックから7/12デビューアルバムリリース＆サマソニ出演決定！|trans-title=British trio of international TANOSHII sound, Kero Kero Bonito, 7/12 debut album release from Sony Music & Summer Sonic appearance!|language=Japanese |publisher=Sony Music Entertainment Japan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623235428/http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kerokerobonito/info/481903|archive-date=23 June 2017|date=19 May 2017|access-date=23 June 2023}}

| title13 = Forever Summer Holiday

| length13 = 3:35

| writer13 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title14 = Picture This

| note14 = Felicita Remix

| length14 = 2:55

| writer14 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title15 = Fish Bowl

| note15 = Frankie Cosmos Remix

| length15 = 1:44

| writer15 = {{hlist|Lobban|Perry}}

| title16 = Heard a Song

| note16 = CFCF Remix

| writer16 = Lobban

| length16 = 4:05

| title17 = Trampoline

| note17 = Saint Etienne Remix

| length17 = 3:48

| writer17 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

| title18 = Lipslap

| note18 = Makeness Remix

| length18 = 3:57

| writer18 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban}}

| title19 = Break

| note19 = Jonah Baseball Remix

| length19 = 2:24

| writer19 = {{hlist|Bulled|Lobban|Perry}}

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Japanese deluxe edition bonus DVD

| title1 = Break

| length1 = 3:19

| title2 = Lipslap

| length2 = 4:02

| title3 = Trampoline

| length3 = 3:59

| title4 = Forever Summer Holiday

| length4 = 3:58

}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bonito Generation.

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Kero Kero Bonito

• Gus Lobban {{en dash}} keyboards, sampler, background vocals, production
• Jamie Bulled {{en dash}} keyboards, sampler, production
• Sarah Midori Perry {{en dash}} vocals

{{col-2}}

Technical

• Dreamtrak {{en dash}} mixing ("Lipslap", "Picture This")
• Anthony Lim {{en dash}} mastering

{{col-end}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Discogs release|9226686|Bonito Generation}}

{{Kero Kero Bonito}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2016 debut albums

Category:Electropop albums

Category:Kero Kero Bonito albums

Category:2010s Japanese-language albums