Candy Racer

* Standard
* Limited

## Singles

1. Kimi ga Iine Kuretara
Released May 10, 2019
2. Kamaitachi
Released April 24, 2020
3. Gum Gum Girl
Released January 29, 2021
4. Gentenkaihi
Released August 16, 2021
5. Jumping Up
Released September 29, 2021
6. Dodonpa
Released October 13, 2021

***Candy Racer*** is the fifth studio album by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It was released on October 27, 2021 through KRK Lab, her own personal record label in association with Nippon Columbia.

The album is also her first project of new material since *Japamyu* (2018) and includes eleven tracks, including six previously released singles. It also showcases Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's experimentation with new genres such as electro house and tech house.

## Background and release

#### **Early singles**

After the album rollout for *Japamyu* was completed with the album's release on September 26, 2019, the first song released from the *Candy Racer* project was the album's lead single "Kimi ga Iine Kuretara", which served as the closing theme of the ten-episode J-drama *Mukai no Bazuru Kazoku.* On February 26, 2020, a limited edition 7-inch vinyl record was released of the single, with the song's instrumental featured on the B-side.

About two months later, nearly a year after the release of "Kimi ga Iine Kuretara", a new single would be released; "Kamaitachi" on April 24, 2020, along with an accompanying music video. This would be Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's only release of new music in 2020, save for a new remix of Ninja Re Bang Bang by American DJ and record producer Steve Aoki on June 24, 2020. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was set to embark on the national *Kamaitachi Tour 2020* in support of the single and supposedly the new era of music as a whole, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on that and the touring plans never came to fruition.

On January 29, 2021, to commemorate her 10th anniversary in the music industry, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released the single "Gum Gum Girl", which showcased more of a bubblegum dance sound than her previous work. The cover art was painted by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu herself and the release was accompanied by a music video per usual. Later in the year on August 16, a new single "Gentenkaihi" was released, featuring a slightly more Shibuya-kei and jazz pop sound than she had ever experimented with, and the song's lyrical themes and the imagery of its accompanying music video fueled speculation that it and "Gum Gum Girl" were part of a new era and would appear on a new album in the coming months.

#### **Album rollout**

On September 10, 2021, nearly a month after the release of "Gentenkaihi", the release of a new album with the title *Candy Racer* was formally announced by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and her team, set to be released the next month on October 27, 2021. The official tracklist was also announced, which featured all four of her new singles since the release of *Japamyu*, as well as seven brand new tracks. One of these new tracks, "Jumping Up", was released as a promotional single on September 29, featuring a strikingly new electro house-inspired sound.

Two weeks after the release of "Jumping Up", and two weeks before the release date of the full album, the final promotional single "Dodonpa" was released, continuing on with the house-themed sound of its preceding single. On October 27, *Candy Racer* was released on CD—including a limited edition CD package—and digitally on music stores and streaming services. One of the songs featured, "World Fabrication", is a cover of the song of the same name by Japanese band Capsule from their album *Nexus-2060* (2005)*.*

## Reception

*Candy Racer* received primarily positive reviews from online publications. Mehan Jayasuriya of *Pitchfork* gave the album a 7.2 out of 10, praising the album's sonic experimentation and comparing the electronic production on the album to PC Music and hyperpop. Describing the album as "pure, ecstatic, delirious maximalism", Chase McMullen of *Beats Per Minute* gave the album a glowing 84% out of 100%, commending Yasutaka Nakata's "futuristic" production and highlighting the instrumental break in "Perfect Oneisan". He also likened the production of "Natsuiro Flower" to that of music by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

## Album credits

* Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - vocals
* Yasutaka Nakata - writing, production, arrangement, mixing, mastering
* Steve Nakamura - art direction
* Takeshi Hanzawa - photography
* Shinji Konishi - hair and makeup
* Minako Suzuki - hair and makeup
* Kumiko li jama - styling
* KANNA - choreography, nails
* Chieko Nakayama - nails
* Yusuke Akasaka - design
* Mari Kobayashi - motion editor
* Taku Hatao - retouching

## Notes

* *Candy Racer* is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's second album with English text featured on the cover art, the first being *Japamyu*.

## References

1. ↑ Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: Candy Racer Album Review *Pitchfork*, 2021
2. ↑ Album Review: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu — Candy Racer *Beats Per Minute*, 2021