A version of the video with an extended ending can be found on the director's Vimeo account. The video features a modern dance performance choreographed by Amy Gardner. The music video for "Kamikaze" was directed by Tobias Nathan and was uploaded to Walk the Moon's official YouTube channel on April 16, 2018. Elsewhere, the song reached number 48 on the Billboard Canada Rock airplay chart. The song ranked at number 16 on the 2018 year-end Alternative Songs chart. It concurrently reached its peak of number 19 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. In the United States, "Kamikaze" peaked at number six on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart on the week ending September 28, 2018, making it the band's second consecutive top-ten hit on the chart from What If Nothing after their previous release " One Foot" and fifth overall. Įditors at Apple Music included "Kamikaze" on its 2018 Songs of the Summer playlist, a list of predictions for that year's top summer songs based on streaming statistics. Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly called the song "generic" and said it "sounds yanked from Imagine Dragons' reject pile". Stereogum's Chris DeVille was more negative towards the song, writing how the track "unfortunately toys with EDM low end á la Imagine Dragons or Fall Out Boy". Allan Raible of ABC News commented that the song "has a lasting bounce to its gate". Alternative Addiction said that "Kamikaze" is an "addictive song that will resonate with avid and casual listeners of the band".
Time's Raisa Bruner called "Kamikaze" an "urgent and immediately catchy song", praising its production and commending Petricca's vocals of being "anthem-worthy". "Kamikaze" received mixed reviews from music critics. Petricca later stated in an Instagram post about the music video that "the Kamikaze is a peaceful warrior of love who is willing to sacrifice the status quo" and "love despite all odds". He mentioned how "that belief in yourself and that belief in something greater than yourself as well is un-fuck-with-able". In an interview with Billboard leading up to the release of What If Nothing, lead singer Nicholas Petricca revealed that the song has two sides for him, one that's about "being in love with someone and having to leave them behind," while the other is having "full ownership of self" and "being all-in". It is played over rumbling bass and contains some sharp, screeching electric guitar riffs. The song features a heavily beat-driven chorus and multi-layered, synth-laden production. It has a minor- key melody with a 4Ĥ time signature and a tempo of 78 beats per minute. "Kamikaze" runs for three minutes and seventeen seconds and has been described as a hip-hop flavored, pop-friendly alternative rock track that incorporates elements of electronic dance music. Following the release of its music video, the song was sent to US alternative radio stations a day later on April 17, 2020, by RCA Records as the album's second single. On November 7, 2017, "Kamikaze" was released as the fourth advance track and third promotional single from Walk the Moon's third studio album, What If Nothing. Months later, they would spend a whole day "trying to come up with something better", but went nowhere with it. The band recalled how the lyric in the chorus, "I'm a kamikaze", came to them "instinctually on day 1". Mixing was handled by Neal Avron with assistance from Scott Skrzynski. The members of Captain Cuts also produced the song with Mike Elizondo. "Kamikaze" was written by the members of Walk the Moon along with Ben Berger, Ryan McMahon and Ryan Rabin, who collectively go by the name Captain Cuts. "Kamikaze" was included on Walk the Moon's setlist for the Press Restart Tour (2017−18) and was performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A music video for the song, featuring multiple performers dancing in a stark white room, was released on April 16, 2018. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and became the band's fifth top-ten hit on the chart. "Kamikaze" was met with mixed reviews from music critics, with some commenting on the song's addictive and catchy nature, while others compared it unfavorably to the likes of Imagine Dragons.
KAMIKAZE WALK THE MOON ALBUM FULL
Its lyrics describe going all-in and having full control of one's self.
"Kamikaze" is an alternative rock and pop song that features multi-layered production with elements of electronic dance music. The song was written by the band members and songwriters Ben Berger, Ryan McMahon and Ryan Rabin the latter three also co-produced it with Mike Elizondo. It was sent to US alternative radio stations as the album's second single on April 17, 2018, through RCA Records. " Kamikaze" is a song by American pop rock band Walk the Moon for their third studio album, What If Nothing (2017).