EP Review: kuroii – Make A Wish

Lo-fi bedroom pop with nods to Studio Ghibli and East Asian rhythms, Make A Wish is the latest EP from kuroii.

The EP opens strongly, with the instrumental title track utilising a strong loop to hook the listener in, underpinning it with gentle, jazzy percussion. It’s all summery sounds and softened edges in the melody, music for long evenings that maybe even carry a bit of magic with them.

A real but not too sudden contrast, then, is the intro to Fruit Punch, a funk-soul guitar riff transformed into a steady, lo-fi melody, the beat sometimes nicely working against the chilled feel the track conjures up, as if referring back to the mood of Make A Wish. It’s slightly more uptempo, and the percussion has a greater role in the mix, but it perfectly balances a laid-back mood with some cool and catchy loops.

Bittersweet is just that, with what could be rainfall cascading as warmly as the melody, carrying a hint of sadness to it, as if knowing it is the last song on the EP. It does have tonal references to the other two tracks, so that all three blend nicely together, while retaining their own identity.

When it comes to instrumental genres, especially this style of bedroom pop that can be placed loosely under the study beats umbrella, it can be easy to get the balance of mood and melody slightly wrong. Here, kuroii makes the quiet centre of each track, softly insistent but not dominating, perfect for losing yourself in a book or in a daydream.  

You can listen to Make A Wish, which was released on the 16th of June, on Apple Music, SoundCloud, and Spotify. For artist info and to keep in the loop with new music from kuroii, follow him on Instagram or TikTok.