B-Side Guys

Creativity often strikes at unlikely intersections. For Sasha Cee, inspiration arrived via a borrowed synth sample from Splice that catalyzed an afternoon of intensive creation, resulting in “Shutter Island”—a slowcore confessional that transforms morning anxiety into haunting pop architecture.

Released April 24th, the track captures the disorienting liminality between dreaming and waking. Opening with the simple domestic action of changing sheets—an act Cee frames as significant through the admission she’d been “sleeping inside our last conversation”—the song immediately establishes the bedroom as both physical location and psychological terrain. This setting provides perfect context for the dissociative state she describes as “serene anxiety,” where external quiet amplifies internal chaos.

What elevates “Shutter Island” beyond typical heartbreak narratives is Cee’s cinematic framing. The Martin Scorsese psychological thriller referenced in the title becomes more than casual namecheck—it functions as metaphorical device highlighting unreliable perception and manufactured realities. When she confesses “in bed I’m watching Shutter Island, that does nothing good for me,” she acknowledges how we sometimes deliberately worsen our mental states through the media we consume, finding paradoxical “comfort” in material that reinforces our disorientation.

Musically, Cee demonstrates impressive production instincts. The track begins with sparse instrumentation that mirrors early-morning emptiness, gradually introducing elements that build toward catharsis in the repeated “La La La La” section—a moment where language itself becomes inadequate to express emotional overwhelm. This progression from restraint to release exemplifies her self-described “eccentric blend of pop writing, and something deeper,” revealing how carefully constructed frivolity can mask profound observation.

Her “signature bubblegum vocal tone” provides deliberate contrast to the lyrical heaviness, creating cognitive dissonance similar to the “serene anxiety” she describes. This juxtaposition reflects her artistic approach of hiding “insightful commentary beneath a guise of whimsical wordplay” and “sarcastic remarks.” The result feels simultaneously accessible and subversive—pop songcraft that refuses to sacrifice complexity for digestibility.

Most compelling is how Cee captures the psychological contamination between dreams and reality. The imagined scenario where someone buzzes her apartment unexpectedly, confesses feelings “in the nick of time,” then leaves—only for her to realize “there is no one left who cares”—blurs the boundary between memory, fantasy, and present moment. This narrative technique perfectly captures how unresolved emotions infiltrate mundane routines, turning ordinary mornings into existential reckonings.

Through “Shutter Island,” Sasha Cee demonstrates uncommon self-awareness both as songwriter and producer, transforming specific emotional phenomena into universal experience while maintaining the intimate scale that makes her perspective distinctive.