In times like these, it’s refreshing to hear new music from a band that still delivers exactly what made them worth following in the first place. That’s the case with Our Best Place, the recent album from Japan’s long running all female power pop punk outfit, Shonen Knife.
First released in 2023, the album earned strong praise from fans and critics alike. Now, ahead of a 2025 to 2026 U.S. tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Men at Work, the band is issuing an expanded edition featuring additional content and an alternate cover design.
“Our Best Place which was released in 2023 became a representative album of Shonen Knife,” says Naoko, founding member and lead vocalist. “It includes many of our punk pop songs. The 2025 vinyl version has fabulous embroidered artwork and will [be] a collector’s item for our fans! “Not only that, I hope this vinyl release will be a good opportunity for other people to know our music!”
While I can’t claim to have been following every step of the band’s career — I became a fan when I purchased their brilliant holiday 45 RPM single “Space Christmas” around the time of its release in the early 1990s (and I still have it and play it each year!) — every Shonen Knife album I’ve picked up randomly over the years has been great fun.
For those of you not familiar with Shonen Knife’s sound, this group effectively bridges the gap between The Ramones and The Ronettes via Osaka, Japan.
A quick look at the track list reveals one of the running themes in Shonen Knife’s universe: food. “Spicy Veggie Curry” might be the best vegetarian punk rock song you didn’t know you needed. “Afternoon Tea” is not the Something Else by The Kinks cut, but you get the sense Ray Davies would appreciate the spirit. “The Story of Baumkuchen” dives into the German “tree cake” that found a second home in Japan, delivered with a quirky charm that oddly recalls Guided By Voices. And then there’s “Vamos Taquitos,” where acoustic strumming collides with a wall of fuzzy, overdriven electric guitars, and somehow it all works.
But its not all food puns here. “Just A Smile” is a great power pop cover tune, originally recorded by Scotland’s Pilot (of the hit “Magic” fame).
Our Best Place now includes four additional songs: “Nice Day (‘60s Mix),” “The Story of Baumkuchen (Japanese Version),” “Girls Rock (2023 Japanese Version)” and “Green Tea (2025 Naoko Vocal Version).”
The bonus 60’s mix of “Nice Day” is a hysterical concept which audiophiles of a certain vintage will appreciate as it places all vocals in one channel and the whole band backing track is in the other — ultra extreme early stereo!
Our Best Place comes pressed on crystal clear vinyl that is well centered and happily very quiet. You can order the CD version with the original cover design for $19.99 at Amazon. It is also available at their Bandcamp page for about $15.95.
As far as getting your hands on the vinyl, as far as I can tell it is presently only available at their concerts but some online sources indicate it will be made available online later in the year after the tour. I have inquired with the band’s PR team and if/when we get additional information I’ll be sure to update this section accordingly.
That said, what are you waiting for? Go see Shonen Knife live and grab the album at the merch table while you’re there. Here’s their current tour itinerary. And yes… let’s knife.
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
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