Review | Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee

Label: Dead Oceans

Japanese Breakfast (or Michelle Zauner as she’s known to her friends) has just released her third album, ‘Jubilee’. It’s an album that skips through genres almost like a compilation album. There’s the gentle folk-pop of ‘Kokomo, IN’, electro-pop of ‘Posing In Bondage’ and ‘Sit’ coming across with the brooding wistful style of bands like Chvrches and there’s the Phoenix style indie of ‘Savage Good Boy’.

Despite some melancholy lyrical content in songs such as the aforementioned ‘Kokomo, IN’ which takes the perspective of a boy who’s forced to say goodbye to his girlfriend, the music in ‘Jubilee’ is, exactly as the title suggests, a celebration. ‘Be Sweet’ has the swing and muted guitar of one of the 1975’s more upbeat songs and a brass section such as that in ‘Paprika’ is full of joy.

With ‘Jubilee’, Japanese Breakfast has provided us with almost a jukebox with a mix of styles and genres. As her previous two albums were written during a time of personal loss with her mother’s passing, ‘Jubilee’ feels like Zauner has come out of the other side a stronger woman, and now it is time to celebrate life. I for one am happy to join in the celebration if this is how it’s going to be soundtracked.