On Friday, November 10th, the band WALK THE MOON, especially famous for their 2014 hit ‘Shut Up And Dance’, released a new album called ‘What If Nothing’. This record includes a teaser single, released a little bit ahead of the album, ‘Kamikaze’. Let me focus on this amazing one.
To introduce an album, an artist needs to release one of the best songs first, at least one that displays a nice idea of his whole work. Well, that is exactly what WALK THE MOON did with ‘Kamikaze’. Starting with a calming beat and gentle cords – nice and sort of similar to Niall Horan‘s ‘Mirror’ (Flicker) – the lead singer, Nicholas Petricca, smoothly pictures a situation of a serious self-conflict. In the first verse, he says “Here in this room, I’m chasing down my demons, I can hear them breathing.” Already from the start, you can tell this song is completely different from the pop party song ‘Shut Up And Dance’ , released three years ago. Indeed, full of foolish happiness and dynamism from the first seconds, the 2014 hit differs from ‘Kamikaze’, for sure. I would describe the latter as a dynamic pop-rock song ; one that is full of energy and that makes you want to jam to it, BUT ALSO, as a sad song. If this statement could seem paradoxal, it is because underneath the happy rocky vibes, are hidden dark feelings of suicidal desires.
A self-battle
Feeling empty and chased by demons, the hero of the song fights a strong darkness inside of him. The chorus does particularly describe the uneasy feeling. The images of fire, explosions and suicide are more than evoked in this song. You can tell the protagonist is on the verge of leaving this world by metaphorically, and literally, exploding. “Stepping out of body, no matter what you call it, I’m a kamikaze” or “Going down with my wings on fire, guess I’ll see you in another life”. Comparing himself as a kamikaze is worrying for sure. He is definitely feeling like a fire ball that just needs to explode. Despite from the desire to liberate himself from his demons and fly…He’s crashing down.
Can love rescue him ?
Looking for a way out of this hell, he finds a woman who can possibly save him. In the first verse, he asks : “But who knew you would be my comfort, you could bring me healing?” Also, in the pre-chorus, he wonders : “If my friends gonna let me slide, how come you never left my side?” When he describes the woman he is in love with as his “comfort”, he does ask if she could bring him “healing”. And that is a real question. The song introduces an issue that is possibly depression, self-hate, and it asks if the solution could be love.
Can you find a way out of darkness thanks to one single person ?
Well, he defines two opposite options : First one, the answer that, yes, it could be a way out. He declares : “All is not lost, my veins are seething, I can feel the freedom, let them talk, it’s not about the crown, we could share the kingdom.” Here, there is hope, the girl can help him find his freedom and fight his demons. Evil burn, depression, could be replaced by a good burn, love. Second option : The protagonist wants to leave this world more than anything. And even if someone special wants to help him get better, nothing can change his darkened mind. The bridge totally confirms this assumption : “Stepping out of body, no matter how you call it, this is suicidal honey, nothing you can do about it, let me take the check, with the reckless abandon on it, just call me kamikaze.”
Apart from being a great song that makes you want to party, sing and dance, it does talk about a heavy subject. The fact that WALK THE MOON can write an upbeat song that could sound happy from the first listen, but that is actually really dark and serious when you pay attention to the lyrics, proves that they’re really talented.
Standing ovation for this great band, please !
Listen to ‘Kamikaze’ right here :
Tiph.
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