The indie pop quartet might not be overtly political, but their new album – ‘an amusement park for insecurities’ – has a radically positive vision

When the Japanese girl band Chai took to the stage of Yes in Manchester two years ago in matching bubblegum pink and hi-vis stripes, the critic Gary Ryan marvelled at how gloriously flamboyant they were. He loved their moves (bonkers), their pace (breakneck) and their Abba tribute (Dancing Queen). Chai, he wrote, are “this year’s most joyous band to watch”. Amid the spectacle, their exuberant indie pop decried impossible beauty standards and willed girls to be themselves and make stuff.

Covid has done nothing to dampen this spirit. Even though live music has been nonexistent since March 2020, Mana, Kana, Yuna and Yuuki (for privacy reasons it is nicknames only) have kept their global fanbase going through lockdown with a pinball-machine-style Instagram feed of primary colours, cooking demos and bright-eyed experimentation. They have been busy behind the scenes, too: the result is their third album, Wink, released this month.