Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)

Four years ago, the multi-talented artist with Korean roots achieved a real global success with her autobiographical book "Tears in Asiamarkt". As Zauner was dealing with the death of her mother in the book, the Japanese Breakfast album "Jubilee", which was released at the same time, was intended to counterbalance this with optimism and joy. This direction was very well received and, in addition to praise from fans and the press, also earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Alternative Music Album".

On "For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)", Japanese Breakfast now return to the cozy melancholy that made their first albums so special. What may sound like a step backwards is actually Michelle Zauner's level-headed reaction to the insane mainstream success of her last projects and the danger that this entails. "I felt seduced into getting what I always wanted," she says, "I was flying too close to the sun, and I realized that if I kept flying, I would die."

The dangers of desire run like a red thread through "For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)". Nevertheless, the album never becomes depressing; Japanese Breakfast build too many glimmers of hope and moments of fleeting beauty into their songs. For the first time, Michelle Zauner and her band went into a "real" studio for the recordings. Together with producer and Grammy award-winner Blake Mills (Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple, among others), the songs were created in the renowned Sound City Studio in Los Angeles. An excellent choice, as the lush, multi-layered sound of the album is indeed reminiscent here and there of greats such as Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young, who recorded at Sound City in the 70s. However, the opulent indie pop numbers are also inspired by artists such as Kate Bush, Aimee Mann and Feist.