Atwood Journal’s writers focus on Japanese Breakfast’s fourth album, ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls),’ an adventurous dive into mythos and a fantastic examination of identification, grief, and girlhood.
Featured listed here are Atwood writers Adam Davidson, Hannah Burns, Josh Weiner, Kylie Gurewitz, and Marc Maleri!
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To begin, what’s your relationship with Japanese Breakfast’s music?
Josh Weiner: I’m an informal fan. I obtained to see them carry out twice (fortunate me!) in a two-month span again in 2022 – first at Boston Calling, after which at Lollapalooza. That twin expertise impressed me to go take a look at their album Jubilee and I loved it, most of all the one “Be Candy.” Thus, I’m open-minded about trying out their follow-up effort, For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls).
Kylie Gurewitz: Informal Japanese Breakfast enjoyer right here. I solely knew “Boyish” and “Street Head” earlier than Jubilee. I obtained fairly into Jubilee round 2022, particularly “Paprika” and “Slide Deal with.” I learn the primary quarter of ‘Crying in H Mart’ earlier than I needed to return it to the library, however after this report I’ll positively end it. Hoping to see them reside this album cycle.
Adam Davidson: I first heard them upon launch of Jubilee – It got here extremely advisable, a must-listen from a number of sources, so I put it on my listening record and was immediately impressed. Jubilee ended up being one in every of my favorite albums of 2021, a pleasant shock from a gaggle I had not heard of earlier than. So after I noticed they have been placing out a brand new launch I knew I needed to hearken to the comply with up!
Marc Maleri: I’d say I’m reasonably conversant in their discography, Jubilee being the report that I do know probably the most. Numerous instances at serving jobs, I’d hear songs taking part in from that report. Their music brings again some enjoyable albeit demanding reminiscences, so I’m joyful to listen to this new report. I believe Michelle Zauner’s voice has at all times been one thing that intrigued me most about Japanese Breakfast, particularly on this mission that enables it to shine a bit of bit extra in stripped again moments.
Hannah Burns: I discovered Japanese Breakfast in highschool, obsessively taking part in “Boyish” and “Street Head” from Mushy Sounds. I didn’t return and hearken to Psychopomp till I learn Zauner’s memoir. It was such a bittersweet introduction to the report, and I cherished each tune. I noticed one of many ultimate exhibits of the Jubilee tour final yr at Radio Metropolis. She was charming, among the best live shows I’ve been to within the metropolis.
What are your preliminary impressions and reactions to For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls)?
Kylie: My preliminary impression was that this was such a fairly report. Sonically actually lovely and in some way each atmospheric and stripped again.
Adam: It’s positively a growth on Jubilee. Not an evolution as such, however they’re 4 years down the street, and so they’ve clearly been engaged on their craft lots. I discover it straightforward to placed on and daydream to, which normally means it’s one thing good. There’s a giant wave of female-fronted bands proper now, whether or not in pop, storage rock, steel, or whatever-the-hell you need to categorise Japanese Breakfast as, and as such the band are driving the crest of a very fashionable wave.
It’s probably the most splendidly compact report. I don’t say this usually about albums, but it surely may have been a few tracks longer for positive. I can’t consider how a lot is packed into the half-hour run time, however on the identical time how delicate the preparations are. Typically I’ve been listening to For Melancholy Brunettes… and it solely looks like a couple of minutes earlier than Jeff Bridges pops up – However then I do know it’s almost over as a result of he’s on the eighth observe!
Marc: It’s succinct. I completely love a brief and tighter report with a constant vibe all through, and Japanese Breakfast did precisely that with this piece. What’s much more stunning are the variety of mythological references and themes explored on the 32 minute album, from allusions to Venus to extra direct influences on tracks like “Leda.” After my first pay attention, what struck me probably the most was how totally different this album is sonically in comparison with their final mission. I am keen on the general extra stripped again, acoustic, ethereal vibe that Japanese Breakfast went for on this one.
Hannah: It’s unbelievable, and never within the banal sense of the phrase. It has a dreamy high quality, immersing the listener into the realm of melancholy she is writing from with a stunning, romantic lens. Crisp is one other phrase that involves thoughts, with the brevity of the report and with the altering of the season I’m coming to affiliate with it.
Josh: I simply listened to it this morning as I used to be driving to the college the place I work – my commute is roughly half an hour, and so is that this album, which makes it the right size for such a journey. I’ll echo the optimistic reward that my Atwood colleagues have already dished out, as that is a fascinating and instantly likable report. I’m glad it made a optimistic first impression to me, and I look ahead to dissecting it additional on repeat listens.
How does this album evaluate to 2021’s Jubilee – what are probably the most placing similarities or variations?
Kylie: This one feels extra stripped again and introspective to me. Jubilee felt like extra of a departure from the traditional indie-band sound, extra upbeat with some danceable tracks. For Melancholy Brunettes options much more acoustic devices and gentler preparations. Thematically, they’re whole opposites, which is true there on the album covers, with Jubilee that includes the intense yellow persimmons and For Melancholy Brunettes that includes moody shades of navy and a girl too depressed to eat the unfold in entrance of her.
Adam: I’d say Jubilee is primarily vocal-based, and the product of a band organically jamming. It’s direct, extra like a traditional hook-based pop report. Be Candy, for instance, is reduce straight from the ’80s, a tune harking back to Fleetwood Mac. Whereas For Melancholy Brunettes… is denser, it has much less open areas and employs a bigger folks affect. The band are growing, and masking new floor – they’re extra textural on this report, and so they usually cast off conventional tune construction.
Listening again to Jubilee for this write-up, I used to be additionally struck by the cleaner manufacturing – Once more it sounds natural, like they’re within the room with you. Each instrument has its personal spot. In the meantime, For Melancholy Brunettes… has extra overdubs, extra occurring, extra melodies constructed on each other. It’s a busier sound.
Marc: Jubilee is brighter and feels extra comfy characterised instead pop report. This new mission looks like watching a dimly lit room slowly retreat right into a comforting night time. I believe the largest variations, on a primary pay attention, are the distinctions in manufacturing between the 2 information. Among the tracks off of Jubilee pull sounds from the ’80s and had extra of a dancy vibe to them, whereas For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls) undoubtedly feels extra folksy and acoustic. Zauner’s lyrics stay introspective, however the numerous references and nuances throughout the lyricism are capable of shine extra because of manufacturing that isn’t as busy as earlier releases.
Hannah: It looks like a pure counterpart to Jubilee, not too sharp a distinction between the sweetness Zauner finds in pleasure and the sweetness she finds in melancholy. In some methods it looks like a companion to Jubilee. Not fairly a sister album, however a sequel or prequel, relying on which method your temper is swinging.
Josh: I haven’t listened to Jubilee during shortly, however I keep in mind that it was a breezy and lighthearted pay attention. You may suppose that might put it in distinction with an album named For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls), however I really discovered this new album to be significantly extra bright-spirited than its title would have you ever consider. Essentially, I’ll say that these two albums share the impact of placing their listeners in temper, even when not all of those 10 new songs have the identical smile-inducing results as “Be Candy” did. I’ll must (re)familiarize myself with each information with the intention to get deeper into what kind of profound thematic overlap they could share and all.
Japanese Breakfast teased For Melancholy Brunettes… with “Orlando in Love” and “Mega Circuit.” Are these singles trustworthy representations of the album?
Adam: In a method – Sure, completely. As a result of these are just about one of the best (in my view) songs on the report. However in one other method they aren’t, as a result of they aren’t typical of the general sound of the album. Many of the songs are quieter, and sparse, with lighter percussion. If you wish to label an album as various as this, I’d say it’s overarching genres are indie-folk and different pop, which covers a whole lot of the report’s scope. However after all there’s way more occurring, so it’d be laborious to select anyone tune as totally consultant. For Melancholy Brunettes… is one thing that must be listened to entrance to again. And it is best to, as a result of it’s not that lengthy!
Marc: I believe “Orlando in Love” is way more consultant than “Mega Circuit.” “Orlando in Love” is brimming with call-outs to literary works corresponding to Orlando Innamorato, an epic poem from the Italian Renaissance, together with different references to myths that different tracks on the report mirror. Sonically, “Orlando in Love” additionally embodies this floaty and mild feeling the many of the tracks have as properly. Whereas “Mega Circuit” isn’t a poor illustration (has a considerably related sounds & themes to tracks like “Image Window” & “Honey Water”), I really feel “Orlando in Love” is the extra apparent consultant as an entire.
Josh: Positive, they’re consultant of the final sounds and scope that the remainder of the album achieves. They will not be clone copies of the opposite eight songs right here, however I wouldn’t need them to be, both – it will make for a fairly monotonous report if that have been the case. The 2 singles are a worthy introduction to Japanese Breakfast’s newest work.
For Melancholy Brunettes… has been billed as an album that “examines the darker waves that roil inside.” Does this seize the spirit of those songs, and the place do you hear or really feel it most?
Adam: I like this, as a result of my first impressions weren’t of darkish lyrics – However once you’re a couple of listens in, these themes do come out. The music is an fascinating cowl for the phrases, as a result of it’s so mild and melodic. For Melancholy Brunettes… is firmly rooted within the sounds of spring to me, and was fittingly subsequently launched in March. So it took a short while for these tougher lyrical themes to accept me. However like a whole lot of different music on this style, subtlety is on the core of Japanese Breakfast’s conceptual world, and among the nuances move you by 4, 5, 6 instances.
There’s lots about loss on this album, which is smart when you realize in regards to the private turmoil Michelle Zauner has been by the previous few years. That’s deftly expressed on “Orlando in Love,” as Zauner makes use of some deep cultural allegories to return to phrases together with her grief. I believe although, it’s additionally a really hopeful album, about being in a tragic place however seeing the sweetness in what you’ve obtained – Maybe a supportive associate or a vivid summer season’s day – And the potential in the place you’re going.
Marc: Definitely. There are actually moments all through the album that don’t essentially really feel “darkish,” however the introspective degree of the lyricism, even on tracks that sound joyful and light-weight (ex: Little Lady), permit for some impactfully somber moments. I believe the observe the place I really feel this sense of darkness probably the most is on “Honey Water.” The aggressive guitar coupled with Zauner’s palpable frustration and give up to males’s shortcomings was unbelievable. The latter half of the tune with the overdrawn, echoing instrumentals nearly felt like I used to be listening to an Ethel Cain tune, and I believe that actually speaks to the darkness that’s residing inside this report.
Josh: I agree with the others that the album doesn’t essentially really feel all that darkish and gloomy at first, however when you unpack the lyrics, among the extra somber themes emerge. An instance of that’s the tune “Leda,” which, once you hearken to it fastidiously (plus get a bit of help from Genius.com), seems to be a few lady who’s remoted from her father and has by no means been capable of patch up her relationship with him.
Michelle Zauner has additionally spoken at size in regards to the distinction between melancholy and unhappiness, to her: “I consider melancholy as a form of anticipatory grief, one which comes from an acknowledgment of the passage of time, from the popularity of mortality and finitude. Indirectly, too, I believe it marks the artist’s situation, always observing by that lens.” What do you consider her evaluation?
Adam: That’s so succinctly poetic. “Anticipatory grief.” “Mortality and finitude.” What a fantastic method with phrases. I’ve at all times seen melancholy as one thing else myself, maybe finest described as a cheerful unhappiness; the final word ambivalence. I don’t suppose you possibly can argue although with what she’s saying right here. I do suppose melancholy is a core a part of any given artist’s day-to-day, I do suppose it’s about mortality, whether or not totally cognised on the time or not. It’s about being current together with your happiness, however being unhappy concurrently you realize it received’t final. I can inform Zauner and the band have tried to seize that feeling all through their profession.
Marc: What a terrific method of characterizing the attitude of artists at giant. I couldn’t agree extra with Zauner’s examination of melancholy, particularly within the context of art-making. Whether or not it’s a tune, a novel, a panorama portray, or no matter it could be, artists are actually their creations by the lens of “finitude” and the way that in the end makes the artwork extra significant, tragic, transcendent, and many others. This sense of “anticipatory grief” is one thing that I sense throughout this report.
Hannah: Zauner is extremely clever and her artwork, her lyricism above all, is a mirrored image of that. I like the concept melancholy is anticipatory grief, that feels very true to my expertise. I agree together with her evaluation that this melancholic lens is a part of the artist’s situation, to witness and translate our humanity, at all times throughout the context of an impending finish. Artwork is greedy at moments, scenes, fleeting emotions, to protect throughout the slippery passage time. It may be a robust act of company to create artwork as a rise up to our personal mortality, to create one thing regardless of dying, however I believe it extra usually comes from a spot of powerlessness. It’s a determined impulse to create, and so human. The album is run by with this anticipatory grief.
Josh: Attention-grabbing. I wouldn’t have initially thought that there’d be a lot of a distinction between the phrases “melancholy” and “grief,” and that they might be used interchangeably. However hey, if Michelle Zauner is prepared to go to such nice lengths to elaborate on the excellence in her work, and in addition use her private definition of “melancholy” because the spine to a few of her songwriting, who am I to face in her method?
Which tune(s) stand out for you on the album, and why?
Adam: I’m actually into that headswimming guitar wall on “Honey Water,” that hit me right away. It’s nothing like the remainder of the album and actually stands out. It’s an enormous indie rock sound that lingers. And the tune, it’s in regards to the complexities of a severe relationship, how issues aren’t “happily-ever-after” and that there’s a whole lot of unhappiness concerned, however she’s accepting of the unhappiness and grows into it. On the finish of the tune, Zauner repeatedly whispers “So it goes/I don’t thoughts” sounding euphoric and listless on the identical time, once more illustrating that ambivalence on the coronary heart of her craft.
Marc: The 2 that I can’t cease listening to are “Honey Water” and “Image Window.” “Honey Water” was a punk-adjacent observe that I wasn’t actually anticipating, and the final half of the observe with the booming guitar actually packs a punch that I believe this album wanted. The lyrical content material in “Honey Water” is beautiful as properly.
As for “Image Window,” I believe that observe has some fascinating parts of rock to it and there are some twang-country influences that I believe add a ton of depth. The lyrics are the sort that I’ll revisit and derive new which means from with every pay attention.
Hannah: The tune that caught out to me is “Males in Bars” with Jeff Bridges. Once I first heard it, I used to be shocked by the twangy sound and by this random man’s voice. I benefit from the lyrics and the sound, however I don’t like Jeff Bridges in it. Possibly it can develop on me over time, however each time it comes on I battle the urge to skip it. “Image Window,” nonetheless, has turn into my new favourite tune from Japanese Breakfast.
Josh: I’ll have to present it a couple of extra listens earlier than I can resolve which tune or two are my favorites, however I do like all those everybody else has listed so far. It’s a fairly mild album for probably the most half, so the upbeat guitar taking part in on “Honey Water” helps to make that one a standout for me, for positive.
Do you’ve any favourite lyrics up to now? Which traces stand out?
Kylie: A harsh lyric set towards lovely, mild instrumentation at all times will get me. A couple of that basically stood out to me have been “Pissing within the nook of the lodge suite,” in “Little Lady,” and “plotting blood together with your incel eunuchs” and “sucked you off by the AC models” in “Mega Circuit.” “Little Lady,” particularly, is such a fairly tune, with fingerpicking on nylon guitar strings and a heartbreaking string part within the refrain.
Adam: I discover the primary verse in Mega Circuit notably placing – In a tune about poisonous masculinity, Zauner units a usually manly scene – “Barreling ’around the mega circuit/Kicking mud off ATVs” then makes a pointy flip into the misogyny of the Manosphere – “Plotting blood together with your incel eunuchs” earlier than providing a hand in friendship to those troubled younger males “I might be the house you want.” The way in which she covers a lot with so little in these phrases is the core of her songwriting. It’s additionally fairly a conflicting place to take – Although she’s confronting a nasty little world, Zauner is attempting to soften away the hate with kindness.
The ultimate two traces are a neat abstract of the core beliefs of that motion – “Deep within the comfortable hearts of younger boys so pissed off and jaded/Carrying uninteresting prayers of previous males chopping holier truths”. It’s not what the principle thrust of the album is about, however I picked this tune as a result of – Other than the infectious swing groove all through which makes it a musical spotlight of the album – It represents one thing Zauner does properly, which is paint a vibrant image of a sophisticated topic with only a few phrases.
Marc: It’s nearly laborious to choose a few of my favourite lyrics; Zauner is so extremely gifted together with her phrases. “Honey Water” instantly involves thoughts with, “The lure of honey water attracts you from my arms so needy / You comply with in colonies to sip it from the financial institution / In rapturous candy temptation, you wade in previous the sting and sink in / Insatiable for a nectar, ingesting ‘til your coronary heart expires.” What a fantastic method of articulating a person’s never-ending thirst for a recent sip of “honey water.” It appears to behave as a metaphor for males searching for out new, thrilling, maybe even mild lovers, ones that may passively permit them to suck them dry of all their sweetness.
The ending verse of “Leda” can be lovely; I’m a sucker for these connection to mythos, “The ocean in view, I’m pondering of all of the Grecian Gods / The lads all of them performed to get what they need / A crashing of waves, a sculpture of Leda and the Swan / You wait, you wait, you wait.” Evaluating Zauner’s personal experiences with being on the whim of different males by the comparability of Leda and the Swan was genius and heartbreaking. With out writing an entire thesis, the poem by William Butler Yeats is predicated on the Greek fable the place Zeus disguises himself as a swan and violates Leda, the queen of Sparta. Connections like these not solely showcase Zauner’s creativity and creative genius, but in addition helps to strengthen an already powerfully darkish examination of devious lovers mendacity in wait.
Hannah: The road that I can’t cease singing is “all of my ghosts are actual” from “Image Window,” which is unlucky for everybody round me as a result of I’m not hitting that observe. However one of the best lyrics in the entire report are from “Mega Circuit”: “Deep within the comfortable hearts of younger boys/ so pissed off and jaded/ carrying uninteresting prayers of previous males/ chopping holier truths.” Particularly resonant below this administration. The traces that encapsulate the album to me, nonetheless, are from “Winter in LA”: “I want you had a happier lady / one that might depart the home.” It’s such a robust hook, actually propels you into the tune.
Josh: Since I’ve simply been instructing World Battle I in my historical past class, I’m a fan of the songwriting on “Magic Mountain,” which takes its identify from the Thomas Mann novel that explores the buildup to this historic interval. “As soon as the fever subsides, I’ll return to the flatlands a brand new man” is a line that displays the novel’s plot of the principle character, Hans Castorp, staying by his cousin’s aspect and never returning residence till his tuberculosis has been cured. By the way, it additionally speaks to a theme that For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls) dips into again and again, which is how folks in the end will discover methods to maneuver on from durations of grievance. It’s an encouraging thought, and it’s good to complete listening to the album with such imagery in your thoughts.
The place do you’re feeling For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls) sits within the pantheon of Japanese Breakfast’s discography?
Kylie Gurewitz: I positively suppose it’s a departure. It looks like Michelle Zauner is having enjoyable exploring the concepts she’s desirous about, from Greek mythology to Italian poetry to incel tradition. It’s an album about unhappiness, but it surely doesn’t take unhappiness too severely (see the music video for “Orlando in Love.”) It looks like a becoming subsequent album after Jubilee, an examination of the alternative emotion however knowledgeable by that joyous perspective.
Adam: I’ve solely heard their final two information, however this ought to be seen as a triumph. They’re carving out a particular nook in a style bristling with expertise and promise, which isn’t that straightforward. It’s a fragile mix of many kinds, all of which appear to return naturally to Japanese Breakfast. It’s not deliberate, like “right here’s a tune that appears like Taylor Swift, right here’s our hip-hop tune, right here’s a punky one.” It simply comes out as a matter after all. Which is clearly very cool!
Marc: It’s actually a brand new route for Japanese Breakfast, and one which I gladly welcome. This report looks like a lot love, ache, and cautious thought went into it, from the literary references to the way in which the tracks themselves are organized. It’s probably not like several report that I’ve heard up to now yr. Zauner caught to her creative imaginative and prescient quite than attempting to fall in step with what’s fashionable within the music panorama. I hope this report will get the eye it deserves, I believe it’s an unbelievable creative achievement.
Josh: I’ve additionally solely heard their final two albums. It looks like those earlier than that didn’t handle to dent the charts a lot (not that I’m against checking them out on Spotify!). I’ll say that I appreciated For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls) about as a lot as I appreciated Jubilee, and it’s good to see that Japanese Breakfast is ready to obtain that often-elusive high quality within the music business: consistency.
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“Image Window” – Japanese Breakfast
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For Melancholy Brunettes (& unhappy girls)
an album by Japanese Breakfast
