Mønday mønday…
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[4.50]
Patrick St. Michel: A bajillion people can’t be wrong, but “Lean On” still sounds weirdly cold to my ears, saved only by MØ’s vocals. She’s once again in peak form on “Kamikaze,” but now she’s joined by much better music. Those synths blur together like paint on the chorus, matching the way MØ slurs words together, so dizzy she can’t think straight. This actually sounds warm.
[7]
Alfred Soto: The impressive arrangement — finger cymbals and lots of daft programmed percussive noise — complements a vocal that has studied Gwen Stefani for what to avoid. The best part is the whoa-oh-oh shadowing the chorus lines. A delightful bauble.
[7]
Megan Harrington: I hope MØ has a 19.2% APR on this cultural loan she defaulted on sometime last year.
[2]
Micha Cavaseno: The weird buzzy timbre of that sample on the production’s peak is fascinating, and as a result it just reminds about how everything else on the song is really just whatever.
[3]
Thomas Inskeep: I love the way MØ pronounces “kamikaze” as “kamikashi,” and also the way she talk-sings like Robyn but with more charm. Diplo tosses in snake-charmer woodwinds, finger cymbals, and more kitchen-sinkness into the production, and this time it all comes together. Hopefully MØ’s worldwide labels will give this the attention and massaging it deserves, because what “Kamikaze” deserves is to be a massive hit, at least as big as the globe-striding “Lean On.” Plus, this’ll sound absolutely sensational on the radio.
[9]
Katherine St Asaph: Summer radio’s worst irritant was, unexpectedly, that “focus, firebomb” snippet out of “Lean On,” spread wide by overplay. Fortunately for my sanity, “Kamikaze” probably won’t be that ubiquitous, on account of it being a horrid amalgamation of cutesy crinkle-cut vocals, childish tinny arrangement, forced carefreeness, and a “fun” “new” metaphor to describe, like, pregaming.
[1]
Iain Mew: As swish as “Lean On” and sweeter, sounding like more blowing kisses and fewer firing guns. The word kamikaze means something, though, and it feels pretty gross to use it to describe self-destructive partying, especially when the song gives the impression that MØ chose it mostly for the sound of it. “Til we die” type songs don’t usually come with the unexplored implication of an attack target.
[3]
Will Adams: If you enjoy angular electropop with raspy vocals beseeching listeners to seize the day and live life to the fullest… the Kate Boy album finally came out the other day. “Kamikaze” sounds sweet in spots, cluttered in others, but there’s little to elevate it beyond tepid party-starter fodder and a more than careless title conceit.
[4]