NEW RELEASE: Jubilee - Japanese Breakfast

 I was at work when I actually originally heard "Be Sweet", a fun upbeat indie synth-pop plead for their lover to give them something to believe in. I then wanted to know who the heck "Japanese Breakfast" was exactly. Turns out most of her music is not at all the vibe of Be Sweet. Her name is a stage name for the real artist Michelle Zauner, whose musical projects originally stemmed from coping with her mother's death from cancer. Nevertheless, "Jubilee" is meant to represent her beginning to exit the realm of grief and experience life and love again. From "Be Sweet", I decided when this album was released I wanted to hear the album and see what I thought of it.

The album begins with the opener "Paprika", which appears to be an ode to how the rush of music and performing got her through the loneliness of her grief. The song instrumentally is a bit loud and almost drowns her out at times. I like the lyricism of it. I have never been a massive horn fan and toward the middle of course we get a horn section. Horns should be minimalistic and blended at best. The song feels a mess because there's so many sounds and instruments being used that it ends up distracting from the song itself. 

If you enjoy strong synth-pop, "Be Sweet" will definitely be the choice for you. She actually mentioned getting with the collaborator of the album and wanting to write a fun pop song that would make them some money. It definitely worked in that light - but she admitted it originally was not meant for either of them to use but she ended up using it as she thought it was such a fun song. It certainly captures an 80s pop vibe and the lyrics are innocent enough it can be played pretty much anywhere. This song itself helps set her up for more songs outside her own perspective.

"Kokomo, IN" has a story to it. The songwriter explained that it is from the perspective of a boy having to leave behind his high school sweetheart. This song switches to a much slower vibe from the first two of the album, and a bit more into a bedroom pop vibe that sounds like her older albums more. It is sung more like a stream of consciousness, which I do enjoy because the lyrics run like a stream of consciousness. Nevertheless, she complicates the song with using too many instruments for a simple song once more, and losing herself behind it. 

We then shift to "Slide Tackle", a song meant to represent the battle we have to face with our minds to find happiness. Thankfully she does not get as lost in the music, but the electronic beat within it does not feel like it really fits the melody and that continues to bother me. 

The next song and second single of the album, "Posing in Bondage", meant to represent controlled desires and monogamy in a positive fashion. The lyrics are simplistic and the musicality is done much better than the previous songs. However, the song itself doesn't capture me conviction wise. 

The next song "Sit", is the first one since Be Sweet to even grab me. The song is meant to capture the lust we can experience for others without acting upon it, and she seems to sing this with more conviction than the other tracks. The melody actually fits the song. That's automatically a step up.

With a song title like "Savage Good Boy", I was expecting something a bit different. Instead of convincing me of the strangeness of rationalizing hoards of wealth, she sings me an unconvincing story with an irritating backdrop to her smooth vocals. I feel about this song I became a bit done with the album itself. 

We then move to "In Hell", which reviewing this album left me in slightly. This song is actually one she wrote prior to this album, about having to put her favorite dog down. The song is quite sad, and one of the best on the album. It is related to the dog, but you could definitely also perceive it as the death of a loved one tragically. Many people will be able to resonate with this one.

This sadness shifts to a love song with "Tactics", where she attempts a lower register that it doesn't sound like she can do very well. The music is too low for her lighter, airy voice. There's absolutely nothing wrong with her singing voice, but she should sing something that suits it better. Thus far she's done little to convince me she felt many of the songs she put on this album.

The album closes with "Posing for Cars", where it almost sounds like a bad Jewel cover at the beginning. The sad thing is, the music is some of the best and most subdued of the album but she is trying to make her voice fit into a register it doesn't fit into very well again. It is frustrating to hear potential and see it unreached. 

LYRICS: 5/10. The lyrics are relatively simplistic. Some songs are better than others but she fails to convince me she feels most of the words on the album.

MUSIC: 3/10. The album is a sonic nightmare. Horns and violins in places they do not really belong to. Drum beats that sound off with her voice. If you prefer something that does not cause you cognitive dissonance then you will need to take a few breaths on this one. 

OVERALL: 4/10. Take a walk outside. I think you were in your own head too long, Michelle. I think sometimes artists get so wrapped up in trying to be "new", "inventive", and "cool" they lose track of the actual project and end up with some disoriented, jumbled mess. That is exactly what this album ended up being, which disappoints me considering she at least had more cohesion within other projects. I would not recommend picking this one up.