Punk (Chai album)

Punk
Studio album by Chai
Released	February 13, 2019 (Japan)
Genre	Bubblegum pop[1] indie pop[2] new wave[3] punk rock[4] synth-pop[5]
Length	31:06
Label	Burger Records Heavenly Recordings Otemoyan
Chai chronology
Wagama-mania (2018) Punk (2019) Wink (2021)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.9/10[6]
Metacritic	86/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
DIY	[8]
Exclaim!	9/10[9]
The Guardian	[5]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[4]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[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

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

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

Accolades for tracks from Punk

Publication	Work	List	Rank	Ref.
Pitchfork	"Fashionista"	The 100 Best Songs of 2019	59	[19]

Accompanying music video

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

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

Punk track listing

No.	Title	Writer(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

Chai

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

Charts

Chart performance for Punk

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

Use in other media

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

1. "CHAI – PUNK (Burger Records) | God Is In The TV". godisinthetv.co.uk. 11 March 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
2. Sendra, Tim. "Punk – CHAI". AllMusic. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
3. Jacobs, Mick (March 19, 2019). "Chai: Punk". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
4. Kuscher, Oliver (March 11, 2019). "CHAI dazzle us on aptly-named new album, PUNK". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
5. 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. Kemp, Sophie (March 15, 2019). "Chai: PUNK". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
11. Monroe, Jazz (May 2019). "Chai: Punk". Q (397): 108.
12. 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. "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.