Since their pure DIY beginnings in 1981, Osaka, Japan’s Shonen Knife have been building a faithful following of music enthusiasts and the alternative rock elite. Their relentless journey secured the band’s place as one of the pioneer ambassadors of Japanese rock music and culture on the international stage.
Their first album in nearly three years since 2019’s acclaimed Sweet Candy Power and tenth full-length for Good Charamel in North America, Our Best Place is an exhilarating masterpiece, brimming with punk-pop flavors that harken the emotions and energy of the band’s early classic albums.
While their albums have always been authentic rock albums with unconventional twists, they’ve returned to the quirky punk-pop flavor that fueled their first four albums, making fans of Nirvana, Redd Kross, The Ramones, and Sonic Youth (among many others). Our Best Place is an eagerly anticipated return to their roots, especially for long-time fans.
New songs like “Nice Day” and “MUJINTO Rock” are reminiscent of The Jam and Buzzcocks (BrooklynVegan says the latter track “falls somewhere between Ramones and The Jam — territory they know well — and is sprinkled with that Shonen Knife magic”), while the eccentricities of “The Story Of Baumkuchen” deliver the playfulness of their early sound with the hard rock influence that they’ve adopted more recently (which can never be completely removed).
“Now, I thank our fans and my band members,” smirks Naoko. “Girl’s ROCK!”
