Go Kurosawa – ‘Soft Shakes’ album review: A subconscious jam session
What happens when a seasoned artist is given total creative freedom? When they no longer have to sit within the confines of an idea, and instead can merely begin playing and see what happens? If you’re looking for the answer, you need not stray further than Go Kurosawa and his layered, varied, and exciting new record: Soft Shakes.
You may well have heard Go Kurosawa’s name before. After all, he has spent the last decade of his life playing with multiple different bands and working with various artists in a bid to bring various visions to life. There have never been many limitations imposed on the music he has made. Dabbling in multiple genres and playing a mix of instruments, Go isn’t one for predictability; however, he has always made music within the confines of a session, an idea, a concept. On his first solo offering, he was able to do what hasn’t been afforded to him yet: pick up an instrument and see what happens.
Soft Shakes was recorded over the course of five months in Rotterdam. The changes in weather and dark nights slowly being replaced by light all filtered into what Go was recording during this period. His musical instinct bleeds into every single moment on the record, as his knowledge of the instruments he plays and the range of genres he has previously dabbled in all make their way onto the record in some capacity.
It’s a real treat to listen to music like this, and the main feeling you get when losing yourself in Soft Shakes is one of confusion as to why more records like this don’t exist. It’s art that truly baffles, as the idea that somebody sat down and made this based on nothing but the instrument they were holding and whatever idea briefly crossed their mind is truly something to marvel at. Why do albums have to be meticulously planned out and painstakingly pondered over? Why can’t they just consist of a musician doing what they do best?
The way that these songs blend into one another, all the way from ‘Moon, please’ to ‘Cloud Rock’, is a treat to be a part of. It feels like a real journey, one that sees the songs evolve and the overall feel of the album change. We travel from soft rock to wah-infused guitar solos before having time to ask how we got here. And yet the journey feels natural, it feels like something we’ve been an active part of as listeners, and the development is justified and natural.
I will say that there are probably some people who aren’t going to get along with this album, and I can understand why. It’s not one that you listen to for individual songs. There is no hit single here, no specific moment that stands out above the rest, the piece is one all-inclusive collection of sound, where every song sits comfortably on level pegging, no hierarchy, just vibrations working in wonderful tandem.
This is the perfect LP for music lovers. There’s nothing for you to read into, nothing for you to overcomplicate, just an excellent musical mind being given the free will to go exploring. And guess what? Now that it’s here, released, and tangible, you can explore too.
Defining track: ‘Jungle Cooking’ – Given the nature of this album, it’s not really a piece of music to consume song by song, it’s better experienced as a whole. That being said, the familiarity that comes with those slight disco hits on ‘Jungle Cooking’ means this is the closest that the record will come to having a stand-out track.
For fans of: Music. Is that too vague? If you listen to the album, you’ll see what I mean. If you want something that just embodies great music, its beauty, spontaneity, and artistic merit, you’ll find it here.
A concluding comment from a music fan: “I’m a fan of this.”
Release date: September 5th, 2025 | Producer: Go Kurosawa | Label: Guruguru Brain
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