Sayonora Ponytail’s (さよならポニーテール) ninth album All Night Thing (夜の出来事) is funky citypop with a drop of melancholy, solemnity, and slowness.

Which is saying a lot about the maturity of their sound considering the band has been nearly nonstop pop for over a decade now. In particular, the finale song, “Morning Sun” (朝日のように君は) has significant depth while being shockingly bright, positive, and danceable.

But first, an introduction. For starters, Sayonara Ponytail is more of a concept than a band, like trying to explain the Cheshire Cat without first explaining Wonderland. Formed in 2009 and taking off on MySpace, Sayonara Ponytail seems to be the brainchild of a mysterious figure named Kuroneko, or “Black Cat” in Japanese. Though frankly this is conjecture: like many beginnings, it’s shrouded in mystery and happenstance, and clues to its conception come later.

The reason why I say Kuroneko seems to lead the band is that the original members – Miina, Ayumin, and Nacchan – were all given personas seemingly facilitated by Kuroneko and brought to life by an illustrator, who they refer to as the “god” with the power to change or erase them. To add to the humor and intrigue, guest artists are like Yu-Gi-Oh monsters, referred to as “Special Summon Gods”.

See, while Sayonara Ponytail is made up of very real singers, producers, and songwriters, all the members are fully illustrated – including the illustrators themselves. That means their true identities are anonymous. So despite debuting 13 years ago, they’ve never performed live. On top of that, their real identities are unknown amongst the members themselves.

The logistics of this are hard to fathom, but article after article insists it.

Kuroneko claims this anonymity was central to the foundation of the band, as he wondered if a band could succeed fully imagined – without tours, performances, or typical front-facing social media presences.

For the most part, it seems his experiment has been a massive success. In 2013, the band gained two members, Yuyu and Shuka, and landed a song as an outro to a hit anime. On top of that, their biggest hitch – the exit of Ayumin – only showed the inherent flexibility of the band, easily subbing her voice and introducing a  “second-gen” Ayumin whose appearance remained consistent.

Ultimately, that genesis brings us to their most recent album, All Night Thing, and its finale song, “Morning Sun”. Arriving at the tail end of an album about long nights out – from the whirlwind of clubbing till dawn, missed connections, and even the joys of late-night snacking on “Pizza in the Sky – “Morning Sun” is all about the morning after, the hope that follows raucous joy and racking melancholy, as well as the uncertainty.

Where the album has already toyed with funk, citypop, and even some more experimental acoustic and spoken word, this song has both a classic and refreshing style; it’s more mellow, laidback, yet growing in brilliant light. The verses are slow and accented before being swept up into an inspired sound of dancing piano and the rising chorus of the other members.

The morning when I woke up with a dazzling light
You are like a bird that has forgotten its song
I’m silently looking at you
Everything will be fine today
Come on, let’s sing about being alive

There’s something uniquely sweet about an album ending with a song encouraging someone to sing.

Many of us love to be listeners, but not singers; head-nodders, but not dancers. Sayonara Ponytail gently points out the disparity that occurs when expression is limited to just the performers, as every “bird” has its song to sing when the morning comes.

Let me hear your words
With that soft singing voice
Dime a dozen
that’s fine
Even sadness can be seen as kindness
It will change
It will change

SayoPony point out that even if your voice feels ordinary or dime-a-dozen, all that matters is that you express yourself openly. If, while everyone else is singing a love song, you feel like singing your sadness, “that’s fine”. By allowing the emotion to come out, it has the opportunity to transform. As the song ascends to the bridge, the chorus of layering “ooo“s fill the song like dawnlight streaming through the window.

The shadow that is ingrained in your heart
faded little by little by the white light
You are like a bird with outstretched wings
To the other side of that sky, flap your wings
It’s not always like that
So let’s celebrate being alive

The preceding song on the album “Steamy Night” is all about the thick of the night on the dancefloor, expressing a moment of realization that even in their whirlwind, there’s duality to everything around them: “on the other side of the world, they’re still / loving each other and hurting one another.” While it may feel like we can steal moments away, somewhere in the world there is always something unfathomable happening. 

Ultimately, it gives deeper power to the sentiment that follows in “Morning Sun” with soaring imagery of a bird in flight – the powerful realization that no matter where you are, who you are, or how you feel, what matters most is that you are alive and expressing yourself in all your kaleidoscopic colors.

To the uninitiated, Sayonara Ponytail is just a few cartoon characters with a soundtrack.

But to those willing not only to listen, but sing along, they may discover that expression in its sincerest form is often atypical – that the image the artist creates is just as real as the person they are behind the persona.

This call to sing, to express, and to take flight is not selfish, nor false – it’s barely even brave. SayoPony’s line, “it’s like a bird who has forgotten its song” is inherently paradoxical, for the bird’s song is its instinct. Any attempt to hide from its natural expression is purposeful, as it cannot be forgotten.

As I encourage you to listen to “Morning Sun”, I also encourage you to think of your fullest expression – whether you feel like you have anything unique or worthwhile to say, or not. Like SayoPony and its unique expression of authenticity, can you believe in the transformative power of self expression?

Let me hear your words
With that soft singing voice
Dime a dozen
that’s fine
Even sadness can be seen as kindness
It will change
It will change