The Sound of Music: Kero Kero Bonito Remains Defiantly Hopeful As It Crosses Genre Boundaries

Kero Kero Bonito is never afraid to experiment with the sound and themes of its music, but its members refuse to let go of the optimistic outlook that defines them.

 The Sound of Music breaks down how every little noise ― that instrument, that sample, that oh-so-significant pause ― makes a song special.

Written by Caroline Pastrano

Photo courtesy of Closed Captioned

British indie-pop group Kero Kero Bonito has never limited itself to the same type of sound. 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. Thematically, the group has covered topics ranging from gaming and childhood nostalgia to depression and the apocalypse. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.”

Photo courtesy of The Line of Best Fit

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

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. 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. Even within these frameworks, however, Kero Kero Bonito manages to showcase its impressive range. 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. 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.

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. This record also deals with heavier and more introspective themes, and the instrumentation reflects this. 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. The darkness of the album’s lead single “Only Acting” is jarring. Perry voices the pressure of feeling like she’s constantly having to put on an act in life, singing, “I thought I was only acting / But I felt exactly like it was all for real / I sure didn’t know it hurt so / But then no rehearsal could show you how to feel inside.” The harsh sound of this track complements Perry’s performance, as loud, distorted rock instrumentals build in the first half of the song, eventually giving way to the warped vocals and chilling glitch that replace the final chorus.

Time ‘n’ Place has quieter moments as well, but even these are melancholic in their own way. “Time Today” has a rather cheerful sound, but its lyrics are pensive and uncertain, as Perry sings, “I got so much more to say / … / But I don’t even know / Where I should be trying to go,” eventually reaching a point where she wonders, “If the sun ever stays down / Will I notice or will I / Just be sitting around?” In “Swimming,” Perry’s calming voice glides smoothly over bright acoustic guitar and drums, but she sings of the great uncertainty of growing older and becoming responsible for yourself while still feeling like a child on the inside: “After many years had passed / Hoping I would find the path / I arrived at the start.” 

The softer, more dreamlike singing style Perry adopts for Time ‘n’ Place contributes to a different sense of nostalgia. Now facing mounting personal struggles, the members of Kero Kero Bonito step away from the playful imagery of their previous music, opting instead to retreat into the wistful landscape of old memories. The noisy rock instrumentation punctuates this, highlighting the harsh realities of adulthood that loom over the nostalgic desire to return to childhood.

Kero Kero Bonito brings back electronic soundscapes for its Civilisation I and II EPs, released in 2019 and 2021, but these records are drastically different from previous albums. The two EPs combined explore an imagined alternate universe, delving into the potential downfall of civilization and the apocalypse. The three tracks of Civilisation I are bleak and dystopian, telling stories of constant violence, wildfires, and the destruction of humanity through flooding. In “Battle Lines,” Perry assumes the position of a dictator in war, as she proclaims: “Make dull chaos the rule / Reduce their spirit and you’ll find soon / They’ll be too weak to fight you / … / Fake a disaster state / The enemy will make itself plain.” In contrast, she takes on a mournful tone in “When The Fires Come,” singing, “Everybody takes their time making work to do / But no one will be left here to remember us / When the fires come.” This is laid against a backdrop of urgent staccato rhythms and heavy, evocative layers of synths, creating an atmosphere that feels simultaneously sober and otherworldly. 

However, Civilisation II, released two years later during the coronavirus pandemic, takes on an ironically lighter tone. “21/04/20” stands out on this release, a pondering dream pop track about the beginning of the pandemic. Throughout the song, Perry muses about the strangeness of her new life, yet her softly contemplative vocals suggest that she is able to find an odd sort of contentment in it. “Well Rested”, the EP’s epic seven-minute house closer, distinguishes itself with spoken verses that implore the listener not to give up on humanity amid its bleak, sung lyrics anticipating the end of days. At the very end, Perry declares, “We have survived a hundred apocalypses / Doomsday hasn’t come yet” over the sound of pouring rain. 

These EPs take on a much wider scope than any of Kero Kero Bonito’s previous projects, and this reflects the fact that many of our biggest struggles are no longer purely individual. It’s daunting to think of what the future may hold for humanity, but we need to help each other if we want to survive. The prospects are grim in the first half of the release, but with Civilisation II, Kero Kero Bonito reminds us that hope is never truly lost despite how dark the world may seem. The band may have moved past its days of songs about shrimps and pocket crocodiles, but its original message persists: no matter what happens, there is always a reason to keep living.