CHAI may not sound punk, but they’re probably more punk than anyone who identifies themselves as such. Born into a society that praised “kawaii”, or cuteness, above all else, this Tokyo four-piece have swapped tartan for pink and set out to dismantle the authoritarian beauty standards, in Japan and beyond, putting undue pressure on women.
They aim to help people realise that everyone is “kawaii” in their own way, no matter what anyone else says. Their website even has a section devoted to what they’ve coined “neo kawaii”: “You should be who you are. We all have our worries, but that's fine. Our insecurities make us who we are. The insecurities become art.”
CHAI’s blistering debut, ‘
PINK’, was all about outward expression, of embracing any physical imperfections and not giving a damn what anyone else thought about you, particularly men. Now, with their follow-up, ‘
PUNK’, the view turns inwards.
Right from the off, with a bassline that makes their Devo influences obvious, ‘
CHOOSE GO!’ sees the quartet attempt to wrestle back control. After years of being told they’re not good enough, they’re here to clear the negativity, the frenetic guitars tumbling over one another, in search of freedom.
Already, CHAI sound brighter, less rough around the edges, than on tracks like ‘Boyz Seco Men. ’PUNK’ in general, despite its title, is a much less angry record than ‘PINK’. Even ‘
Fashionista’, the spiritual sequel to the electrifyingly jagged ‘NEO’, is a more indirect attack on beauty standards. Where ‘NEO’ stabbed at the heart of it, ‘Fashionista’ is rebellion through expressing yourself how you want. It might lose some of the edge that made ‘PINK’ so instantly impactful, but it’s such a joyous record that it’s hard not to fall for it.
