The darkness of the album’s lead single “Only Acting” is jarring. The band steps away from highly synthesized backing tracks with this release, as producers Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled channel their newfound angst into traditional rock instruments. This record also deals with heavier and more introspective themes, and the instrumentation reflects this. In its 2018 album Time ‘n’ Place, Kero Kero Bonito departs from previous releases and trades its signature synth pop for softer vocals and production reminiscent of the shoegaze genre. With this record, Kero Kero Bonito brings back much of what made Intro Bonito great while also proving that the band is capable of a more developed sound. The lazy syncopation of the backbeat in “Break” underscores the message about taking a moment to relax, while the resonant ‘80s pop sound of “Big City” compounds the staggering feeling of leaving your hometown for the first time. Even within these frameworks, however, Kero Kero Bonito manages to showcase its impressive range. This complements the expanded lyrical themes of this album, as it focuses on messages about growing up and discovering who you are in the context of a larger world. Kero Kero Bonito’s first full-length album, Bonito Generation, expands on its predecessor’s sound with a continued reliance on synthesizers and drum machine beats, but the production is noticeably denser this time around. The optimism of “Flamingo” and Intro Bonito is never in opposition to reality rather, Perry acknowledges that we will meet hardships in life, but she aspires to show us that it’s possible to face these struggles without sacrificing your sense of self. Despite the weight of the topics covered, Kero Kero Bonito approaches each one with humor, heart, and impossibly cheery synths, ultimately never losing their playful edge. “Babies (Are So Strange)” is about how Perry feels pressured by society to have children due to her gender, but her blunt description of babies is comical: “They can’t even talk / And they keep us up / ‘Cause they always want to suck.” “Small Town” touches on Perry’s feelings of isolation as the only person of Asian descent in her community growing up, but the use of silly, distorted voices in the song keeps the tone fairly light.

This type of juxtaposition is present in much of Kero Kero Bonito’s early music, most prominently its 2014 mixtape, Intro Bonito.

Humorously and ironically, Perry contemplates whether eating too much shrimp would make you turn pink like a flamingo, eventually using this as a segue to urge the listener that they shouldn’t try to change who they are for any reason: “Black, white, green, or blue / Show off your natural hue / … / You don’t need to change / It’s boring being the same / … / You’re pretty either way.” This light instrumentation allows for Perry’s vocals to truly shine her voice is clear and bright throughout the track as she sings and raps in both English and Japanese. With its whimsical flute and marimba layered over a simple and fresh drum machine and synths, “Flamingo” was able to appeal to a mass audience. In terms of sound, Kero Kero Bonito’s earliest projects are upbeat all the way through, as Perry’s soft voice rings over playful synthesizers and samples from “Super Mario” games. The breadth of Kero Kero Bonito’s discography is impressive, yet it never fails to bring comfort either: Japanese-British lead singer Sarah Midori Perry sings of universal struggles with identity and uncertainty, but she ultimately aspires to remind us of the importance of always searching for beauty in life, no matter how bleak the future looks. Thematically, the group has covered topics ranging from gaming and childhood nostalgia to depression and the apocalypse. The musical style of the female-fronted, three-piece band jumps from the bouncy J-pop inspired melody of their 2014 hit “Flamingo” to the dreamy shoegaze and ethereal art pop of its most recent projects.

British indie-pop group Kero Kero Bonito has never limited itself to the same type of sound.

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