Jubilee - Japanese Breakfast

The critics were going on and on about this indiepop record that was taking over radio by storm. My friends on Twitter were praising the living hell out of this album. I had to listen to it.

Jubilee is my introduction to Japanese Breakfast, apart from some of their old Main Menu music that lives on somewhere in my playlist. As far as the album cover art goes, it complements the album content very well. It’s gorgeous, if I might add.

1. Paprika

   An intro track laid out on drums that make you feel like marching for no reason. Smooth, harmonic organ sounds combine with intricately layered vocals for an introduction to this colorful record. On top of that, horns kick in towards the conclusion of the song, indicating the beginning of the album. I love Paprika, one of my favorite openers to any indiepop album in a long, long time.

2. Be Sweet

   Be Sweet is one of those tracks that I’ll play on the speakers whenever I see people having good time. Dreamy vocals on top of a catchy beat, cute strings and a really, really nice bassline. I’m sorry, I’m bad at describing indiepop music because I enjoy it too much. Be Sweet is just another track that I enjoy…too much?

3. Kokomo IN

   The third track on the record slows it down and takes the listeners to a dreamy, melancholy land. Choral keys and more bittersweet strings highlight the second verse. These days I can’t shake the awful feeling, I’m missing something I can’t place, is that you? Whilst it’s not my favorite track on the album, my fingers struggle to hit the skip button whenever it pops up on my shuffle.

   But that is like, half of my playlist.

4. Be Sweet

   Slide Tackle comes in with a bassline that reminds me of like a hundred songs. It’s a decent song, no doubt, but when you pitch it against the likes of tracks such as Sit, Posing for Cars and Paprika, it does next to nothing to stand out. More so, the track acts like glue: keeping the rest of the album together in some sort of coherent fashion.

5. Posing in Bondage

   Can you tell I’ve been posing
   This way alone for hours

   Yes I can, since this song has become my go-to track every time I need to send my friends a comforting anthem . The vocal choruses and the keyboard (WHAT ARE THOSE KEYS?) mix SO WELL with the pad synth I ABSOLUTELY love. And Michelle Zauner’s vocals? Kill me with kindness energy. This track has grown on me more than I would care to admit.

6. Sit

   Number one track on the album. Easily. It’s a chase sequence on loop, LITERALLY. The leading bass synth has my heart. It rises, it falls, but holy shit does it add a whole different color to the song. When Michelle goes Cauuuuuught up in the idea of someone…
   I’ve given up on finding any flaws in this song. Beautiful, beautiful song.

7. Savage Good Boy

   Savage Good Boy is a track that you play when you’re walking down right next to the train tracks you love so much. It’s a song you play when you feel like shit and you ACTUALLY want to do something to make your day better. A relatively short track, but it does its job; leading you towards the closing tracks without standing out too much. Good job, Savage Good Boy.

8. In Hell

   The song starts with the lyrics With my luck, you’ll be dead within the year. I played this song for my friend in the car and he looked at me rather concerningly. It took me two minutes to explain the context of this album to him. It took us another thirty seven minutes to listen to the whole project.
   And all this started from the first lyric of the song. It’s a good song, a good melody and slightly refreshing strings. Nothing stands out too much, nothing stays under for too long. Well balanced track, overall.

9. Tactics

   Tactics is probably the only song on the album that jerks some tears out of these eyes. Some part of it would be the bells and keys on top of the melancholic strings that make the bridge so much better. Very well paced song. The strings hit the right spots when they should. Also, can I just give mad props to the writing on this album. It’s poetry. I know what she’s talking about, but she’s talking about it in a way that is…aesthetic. I love it. LOVE IT.

10. Posing For Cars

    Woke from a dream in which you’d left me
    Posing for cars on the American stoop
    The drums don’t kick in under minute three, and when they do, it’s glorious. It’s hauntingly heartbreaking, emotionally laden and filled with energy. Don’t ask me what kind - I couldn’t say. Light strumming over an angelic pad with riffs from an otherworldly electric guitar. There is no better way to end an album.
    

    I’m a fan, phew.