At just 1:49 in length, some could say that this track is more of a side step on the journey of Alpha Wolf‘s Mono album than a full song. But “Shinobi Naku” feels as potent and impactful as a song twice its length.
Fourth track on Mono, “Shinobi Naku” skillfully pulls so many elements together into its short time length. Its title alone capturing the fact that emotional pain exists, even if not expressed, for shinobi naku is Japanese for ‘shedding silent tears’; stealth crying. So already we have this understanding that there is sadness, and sadness pouring, but not freely at all.
The jangling melody of “Shinobi Naku” is wavering and feels otherworldly, having us feel that we’re existing in the depths of emotion without any solid base or grip on reality. There’s no grounding drum beats or earthy bass here.
What is here is a human expressing emotion, in all its uncomfortable rawness. There’s nothing stealth about this, perhaps demonstrating that these words shared are what was not said out loud, until now, adding something special in its vulnerability.
With this track, we’re pulled into the inner mental experience of processing something that happened; the loss of a lover, and the sharp stabbings of regret.
“Could I really have been your lover?
Entwined to one another
Instead we’ve lost ourselves
Lost ourselves and lost each other”
“Shinobi Naku” may just be a side step of a song in comparison to the gutsy aggression of its album ‘neighbour’ “#104”, but it’s a powerfully expressed statement of regret and wondering how things could have gone.
Alpha Wolf are currently on tour with Thy Art Is Murder, along with Deadlights and Cursed Earth. They’ll also be launching Mono with a (sold out!) show at Wrangler Studios in Melbourne. All the details are HERE.
Here’s “Shinobi Naku”.
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