Review 10

SHUNKAN - HONEY, MILK AND BLOOD

ART IS HARD RECORDS 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

Shoegaze, that rough, hazy guitar sound that blends with vocal cries fuelled by an array of effect pedals. Originally coined from bands in the eighties such as My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Motionless live performances that involved looking at their feet and pedals led to the term shoegaze, for apparent reasons.


20 year old, New Zealand based artist, Marina Sakimoto, AKA Shunkan has just released her debut EP Honey, Milk And Blood. In the spirit of shoegaze it is loaded with guitar strums running through what sounds like endless reverb. 

The opening track on the EP, Dust In Your Eyes, was initially released as a single and was Shunkan's first step onto the scene. It's a beautiful song, built from simple guitar layers under Marina's young, distorted voice. She carries the song with vocal cries and lyrics like 'feeling things just ain't fair'. Heavier drums and guitar riffs run through the chorus and emphasise the torturous love story the song appears to be based on.

Honey, Milk And Blood has a charm to it. The sound and style of the tracks might not be everyones taste but the dirty guitars mixed with passionate vocals and what can assumed to be a cello create a juxtaposition that holds its own. Tracks It's Not Your Fault and Hail progress the EP with distorted, dreamy rhythms in a beautiful contradiction of layers.

Over is the cleanest track on Honey, Milk And Blood and works as a palate cleanser. 'Couldn't you wait until I was over' is sung over a simplistic guitar and bass. However the distortion pedal is stomped back on for the final track Wash You Away. Finishing the EP in a almost simplistic Arcade Fire style. Wash You Away ends with a step back from all the haze and finishes the record with a clean guitar and vocal repetition. 

Shunkan is translated as 'in the moment' in Japanese, something all artists want to be. Honey, Milk And Blood sounds present, lo-fi music currently is holding its own revival and if Shunkan can make shoegaze in the moment again then I guess she is ahead of us all.



Rating: 8