Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet

There's some discussion of this on the overlooked albums thread, but it's one of my favourite albums of the year and deserves more attention.

Genuinely surprised that ILM hasn't gone mad for this, it does most of what I want an indie record to do in 2017.

oh hey a friend just proposed i see these guys with them -- sounds like you're saying I should? I've never heard of them besides 20 minutes ago when this guy brought them up, and now .

I really liked Psychopomp but haven't been able to get into this anywhere near as much. It's nowhere near as immediate and the dreamy synth haze is gone.

They're good. Michelle is a star

That's a nice album. Not revolutionary but solid indie with pop touches.

Bob Boilen NPR indie

But good at that

I guess I need to listen to Psychopomp then. Still, 'Boyish' is one of the most affecting songs I've heard this year.

Going to see them next month. Can't wait.

I liked Psychopomp a lot, but Soft Sounds has grabbed me so much more. The second half in particular is very strong. Till Death is just devastating, especially that key change where she sings, "teach me to breathe". Some of it reminds me of the more mellow moments on the last Angel Olsen album.

i meant to listen to this earlier but only got around to it today and wow, what an upgrade from psychopomp (which is already v good), what an impressive record

I like them a lot--not as in love with Soft Sounds but agree that the second half is where the guts of the album is

great recommendation Matt

I'm a fan, some nice stuff to admire and not much to dislike. Production is uber wonderful on new one.

"You gave road head on a turnpike exit"

This show was really good btw, recommend seeing them

kinda stuck on the first track "diving woman"

Diving woman is one of the finest tracks of 2017. Some weird mix of
Stupid girl
By garbage
And goldfrapp. Classic

I actually agree that this really takes off in the second half, the first few track are good but it's the Spectorish register shift in the second half that really made me fall for it.

I really like this album, too. Probably in my top 5 of the year.

Yeah, this is firmly in my top five too.

I keep getting, "I can't get you off my mind, I can't get you off in general" stuck in my head.

They are ok, sometime generic indie though

Still playing Soft Sounds From Another Planet at least once a week.

I'm excited for the soundtrack she's doing for a computer game next year. The song she did for the trailer is stunning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8bcIzVtLhQ

A hell of a writer.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/crying-in-h-mart

that was bittersweet

Excellent new single from these guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZfcZEIo6Bw

Adore this band and think "Soft Sounds" was one of the best indie rock albums of the 10s. New single is great.

“After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy,” Zauner said in a statement. “For me, a third record should feel bombastic and so I wanted to pull out all the stops for this one. I wrote ‘Be Sweet’ with Jack Tatum from Wild Nothing a few years ago. I’ve been holding onto it for so long and am so excited to finally put it out there.”

https://pitchfork.com/news/japanese-breakfast-announces-new-album-jubilee-shares-video-for-new-song-be-sweet-watch/

this is nice, i like how strongly her melodic voice comes through despite the stylistic shift

This really reminds me of Paramore's After Laughter. Probably my most highly anticipated album of the year now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2pQIqR-m_w

oh this one's really nice too

I love that. Half way through it turns into something really special.

oh man this is great! really looking forward to this

"Be Sweet" refuses to leave my head. Help!

She is doing a lot of press around her new book, Crying in H Mart. You can read an excerpt here

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612676/crying-in-h-mart-by-michelle-zauner/

She was the guest on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me this week, which was enjoyable

https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/

Latest single might be my favourite yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcoC5ZgaFjY

i don't like it quite as much as the last two but i still have very high expectations for this album with all the tracks so far

album leaked and it's wonderful

"slide tackle" is this gorgeous shimmering house-y sophistipop thing

arrangements are so good, this is a huge step up for her. kind of a 1975-esque 'i can do anything i want' eclecticism to it

"slide tackle" is the best song ever

Album of the year by an absolute mile. As you say ufo, the arrangements are just wonderful. It's such a bright beautiful glistening record that has arrived at the perfect time.

Really hope people on here get behind this.

it's certainly one of my absolute favourites this year

i really didn't like the sound of her last record but this one puts it into context better, i can hear what she was going for now with the arrangements on it even if they didn't really succeed to me in the way the new album's arrangements do. the much more colourful palette on this one improves things so much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m06CX9q39nQ

orchestral version of Be Sweet

between this and the wolf alice album it's a great day for rock albums with grand sweeping ambitious arrangements

between this and the wolf alice album it's a great day for rock albums with grand sweeping ambitious arrangements

― ufo

Yeah, these two albums are going to be on heavy rotation over the next few weeks. Probably my two favourites of the year at this point.

Indeed, it's a lovely listen. Looking forward to the fall show.

I'm not getting yet what this album is trying to do, but will keep listening until I hear something

(I liked this band when I saw them play a few years back but they were more rock then, I think? Or maybe just their live show is more rock)

wasn't sold on the horns on the first track, but "slide tackle" has me fully on board

xp this is definitely a bit of a stylistic departure (but completely for the better imo)

I'm not getting yet what this album is trying to do

I have the same problem, and I liked the pre-release tracks.

It may sound strange but if it helps, it reminds me obliquely of St. Etienne (less the dance side, obv.)

i don't think the vibe is significantly different from the pre-release tracks, "posing in bondage" in particular seems to be a decent indication of what the album encompasses

favorite moment so far, honestly, might be when she returns to a bit of her nu-gaze roots on "sit"

xxp yeah saint etienne is a decent comparison, and of course "slide tackle" is even a bit reminiscent of the dance side

i think the only thing i don't like on this album is those weird pitch-shifted backing vocals on "savage good boy", no idea what she was going for there

that's precisely what made me go wtf in an uncomplimentary way. It reminded me of one of Mitski's schtickier moments.

anyone else getting "rainbow connection" vibes from "tactics"? not in a bad way, it's graceful but not drippy.

oh i totally get that yeah, a lot of the album has that sort of feeling to it

Between this, Liz Phair, Wolf Alice, and Garbage's upcoming album, it's been a strong two weeks for strong women making loud as shit music.

Going to throw in a band out of Manchester I just learned about earlier this week, Witch Fever. This pretty damn well shreds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZQMBQ640o

"Posing in Bondage" seems like a good remix candidate.

this album really captures everything i loved about "in heaven" just in high fidelity

https://www.stereogum.com/2145608/japanese-breakfast-interview-track-by-track/interviews/footnotes-interview/

here's a good interview about the making of the record - ryan from crying worked on "slide tackle"!

"Posing in Bondage" is a stunner

wonderful album to listen to on this sticky, humid day

Really great merch, too

http://japanesebreakfast.rocks/shop

How did I never hear about this?

https://open.spotify.com/album/3aq7whJpYQjC5m2GGENivF

https://pitchfork.com/news/japanese-breakfast-shares-debut-ep-from-new-project-listen/

Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner has joined forces with Crying’s Ryan Galloway for a new quarantine project called BUMPER. Today, they’ve announced their debut EP pop songs 2020, which is officially out tomorrow (September 4) but you can stream in its entirety now. Listen to the four-track project below (via Rolling Stone).

Zauner and Galloway live three blocks apart from one another in New York City, but haven’t seen each other in person since the pandemic began earlier this year. They started sharing tracks for the new EP over email back in June.

it was a nice little thing. i posted about it in the crying thread but not much discussion. galloway also co-produced "slide tackle" from the new one which was the standout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqrEVwTnlF4

Beautiful performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej5-CHAGr34

weird synth ballad for a game soundtrack, the rest of the soundtrack is out next month & mostly going to be ambient synth stuff like the backing here

^ this comes out Friday

Anyone else liking the Sable soundtrack? Some really nice cues / instrumentals / songs on here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhbRwEvWrEk - shows up on the second cd. Pretty.

I've only listened to it a couple of times and need to revisit it soon. Really nice stuff.

haven't listened to the new(ish) album yet, but saw her on SNL this week and thought it was ... terrible? Am I the only one?

I thought she sounded fine, though neither topped the album versions. She was so happy to be there, it was adorable.

On the first song on SNL while she looked happy to be there, I thought her voice sounded a bit off and almost amateurish/karoake ish. On the second song it seemed she had steadied her nerves and had it it more together. But it still didn't live up the album .

Nice interview with Marchese

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/06/magazine/michelle-zauner-interview.html

'soft sounds' is a perfect album

Agreed. I'm so glad Jubilee was a breakout album for them and has done so well, but Soft Sounds is in a different league. One of my favourites of the last ten years.

For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) out March 21 (though Bandcamp says March 2?)

1. Here is Someone
2. Orlando in Love
3. Honey Water
4. Mega Circuit
5. Little Girl
6. Leda
7. Picture Window
8. Men in Bars
9. Winter in LA
10. Magic Mountain

"Orlando in Love" is already out on streaming

The single is gorgeous. This is my most anticipated album of the year.

I also really like it, now that I'm able to listen. The press release mentions this album will be darker, but this song floats by like some of the breezier tunes on Jubilee

new album is pretty good but it's not as good as jubilee

Jubilee is a hard one to follow, but I'm really in love with this. Here Is Someone continues their run of perfect openers, Honey Water is incredible and gives me Smashing Pumpkins/Cure vibes as it builds and Winter In LA is one of their most beautiful melodies. The production throughout is so gorgeous and she's never sounded better.

more subdued than Jubilee but I think this is still great on first listen. agree that the production is gorgeous, full of swirls and swells. "Honey Water" is amazing, definitely the standout

This album is really mellow, going to be great for late night walks. I dig it.

Her last three records have all struck such different vibes for me, but I like that about them. They all have a place. It's funny, I absolutely get why Jubilee is her breakthrough and for good reason, but I slightly prefer Soft Sounds and this new one is proving it might edge out Jubilee too in the long run. Absolutely no shade on Jubilee, we're talking shades of very good to great for all three records (haven't heard anything before Soft Sounds yet, but I prefer the vibe of the new one.