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Shake My Days Drops New Single ‘Cider at Dusk’

Published

3 months ago

June 9, 2026

There is something quietly transportive about “Cider at Dusk,” the standout track from Kyoto indie-pop duo Shake My Days. Built around shimmering guitar lines and a wistful melodic core, the song feels less like a conventional indie-pop single and more like a fleeting memory preserved in amber. Mitsuki’s expressive vocal performance carries an emotional sincerity that immediately draws listeners into the song’s world.

At first glance, the track’s bright instrumentation suggests carefree optimism. Yet beneath its sparkling surface lies a deeper emotional tension. Songwriter and producer Showky Saezawa balances uplifting guitar-pop textures with subtle shades of melancholy, creating a compelling contrast that echoes the uncertainty and longing of adolescence. It’s this emotional duality that gives “Cider at Dusk” much of its enduring appeal.

British guitar-pop influences are woven throughout the arrangement, but Shake My Days never sound derivative. Instead, they filter those familiar sounds through a distinctly Japanese sense of melody and storytelling. The result feels cinematic and deeply personal, recalling the emotional immediacy of a coming-of-age film soundtrack while retaining the immediacy of contemporary indie music.

The track’s international success is hardly surprising. Whether heard as a television theme, discovered through streaming algorithms, or encountered via the band’s growing online presence, “Cider at Dusk” possesses a universal quality that transcends language barriers. Its themes of hope, disappointment, and youthful reflection resonate regardless of geography.

Several years after its original release, “Cider at Dusk” continues to find new audiences around the globe. As Shake My Days steadily expand their international profile, the song stands as a compelling introduction to a duo whose gift for melody and atmosphere feels increasingly rare in today’s indie landscape.

“Shake My Days is rooted in the British guitar rock I dreamed of making when I was younger. When I first heard Mitsuki’s voice and unique phrasing, I felt we could create something that modern J-Pop rarely offers – guitar music that feels nostalgic, yet completely new. ‘Cider at Dusk’ is perhaps the clearest example of that vision. It tells the story of the small but meaningful disappointments and hopes we experience during our teenage years.” – Showky Saezawa

“I recorded this song when I was still in high school. From the very first time I heard it, I thought, ‘This song is going to connect with people.’ Showky and I often talked about school life, part-time jobs, friendships, and everyday experiences. Looking back, I think all of those conversations naturally found their way into the song.” – Mitsuki

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We Speak Music

Phoebe June Traces Love, Distance and Heartbreak on New EP ‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’

Published

2 days ago

September 11, 2026

Joni Jones

For Phoebe June, some stories are easier to tell through music.

Her new EP, ‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’, is an intimate collection that traces the emotional journey of a relationship from the exhilaration of falling in love to distance, uncertainty, heartbreak and, ultimately, learning to let go.

Inspired by artists including Gracie Abrams, Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, Phoebe June combines diary-like lyricism with melancholic ballads, subtle uptempo moments and an understated, emotionally honest production style.

At the centre of the project is ‘Thursday’, a bittersweet track about loving someone from a distance and holding onto the hope that the connection might survive.

Written after Phoebe left a country that held deep personal meaning, and left someone she cared about behind, the song looks back at the relationship from its beginning. Even its title is personal: the two first met on a Thursday.

The song captures the complicated feeling of walking away from something meaningful without believing that it necessarily has to be over. It’s about distance, memory and the possibility of finding your way back to someone, while recognising that hope only works when it goes both ways.

Across six tracks, the EP develops that story in sequence.

‘Everything You Are’ opens the project with the warmth of new love, while ‘Dead Sea’ explores the security of finding someone who helps you stay afloat through difficult times. As the story progresses, ‘Thursday’ introduces separation before ‘Getaway Car’ moves into the aftermath; unanswered questions, lingering attachment and the realisation that someone can profoundly affect your life while still being unhealthy for you.

‘One Day’ leaves the door open to the possibility of a future reunion, balancing hope with the understanding that some relationships may only exist in memory.

The EP closes with ‘Ophelia’, its emotional breaking point. Inspired in part by Friedrich Heyser’s painting of the same name, the track confronts the pain of feeling manipulated and unappreciated after giving everything to someone else.

The result is a project that deliberately moves from light to dark. Phoebe June considered not only the narrative but the emotional progression when sequencing the EP, allowing the brightness of its opening to gradually give way to the heartbreak of its closing moments.

Even the title reflects that feeling.

‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’ takes its name from a flower, with the image of a gate separating two people becoming a metaphor for a love that remains beautiful but just out of reach. To reach over it requires effort, just as maintaining a connection across distance, uncertainty and changing circumstances does.

Ultimately, Phoebe June isn’t interested in simply documenting her own heartbreak.

She wants listeners to recognise themselves in it.

‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’ is a collection about love, nostalgia, hope and regret and about what remains when something beautiful ends up on the other side of the gate.