Shunkan wrestles with duality and catharsis on Kamikaze Girl
Marina Sakimoto’s new album as Shunkan is a raw and resonant reflection on emotional endurance, identity, and the chaos of change.
Produced by: Alex Newport
With Kamikaze Girl, her first full-length since signing to Rite Field Records, Sakimoto turns inward, translating personal upheaval into a ten-track journey through grunge-soaked melancholy, emo catharsis, and lush alternative rock textures. The album captures a year of her life marked by unraveling relationships, intense self-examination, and the solitude of wandering Los Angeles searching for meaning.
Recorded in Joshua Tree with producer Alex Newport (Death Cab for Cutie, At the Drive-In, Bloc Party), the album makes the most of its stark, isolated environment. That creative space allowed Shunkan to craft her most vulnerable, immersive work yet. From the brooding slow-burn of opener ‘Hellbound’ to the angular pulse of ‘Usual Suspects,’ the music mirrors Sakimoto’s inner dualities—past and future, strength and fragility, light and dark. The record leans into the fuzzed-out bliss and personal storytelling that has earned Shunkan comparisons to artists like Illuminati Hotties and Bully, while also building on the promise of her previous EP Honey, Milk and Blood and acclaimed debut The Pink Noise.
Thematically, Kamikaze Girl circles around the contradictions of self-sabotage and survival. The title alone suggests a kind of beautiful wreckage, an embrace of emotional freefall. Sakimoto doesn’t shy away from the discomfort: these songs are steeped in confession and catharsis, blurring the line between diary entry and sonic exorcism.
Shunkan remarks about writing for her upcoming album Kamikaze Girl.
“It was a little challenging, but it was also cathartic.”
Even at its most intense, the album maintains a sense of emotional clarity—proof that even in the face of unraveling, there’s value in pressing forward. Sakimoto honors the pain but never lets it fully define her, making Kamikaze Girl both a time capsule and a turning point.
Standout Songs: ‘Hellhound,’ ‘Sidekick,’ ‘Frogtown,’ ‘Talk Is Cheap,’ and ‘Gilligan’s Island.’
Release Date: May 6, 2025
8.8
We’ve covered Shunkan previously: ‘Hellbound.’
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