This past August, J-pop performer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released a video for her new single “Gentenkaihi.” The song ostensibly marked a decade since she debuted as a musical act, arriving online a few days before the 10-year anniversary of her first EP, “Moshi Moshi Harajuku.”
In true Kyary fashion, however, she subverted the idea of looking back. The song title is a play on the Japanese term “genten kaiki,” which roughly translates to “returning to your roots.” By changing the last kanji character of the term, Kyary instead celebrates running away from where she started. The accompanying clip drives this message home by showing the 28-year-old flee from a big crimson bow resembling the sort of kawaii hair accessories that have been a part of her look since 2011.
Kyary’s newest album, “Candy Racer,” marks a fresh start for the performer. It’s her first album released by her own imprint under Nippon Colombia, KRK LAB, after leaving longtime label unborde (a sub-label of Warner Music Japan) a couple years back. She’s still working with prolific producer Yasutaka Nakata, but this fifth full-length offers some sonic experimentation alongside the rainbow-bright synth-pop that made Ms. Pamyu Pamyu the official ambassador of Harajuku in the 2010s.