ALBUM REVIEW: Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee

Dead Oceans

Released: 04.06.21

Oh dear. I was massively looking forward to Japanese Breakfast’s triumphant, maximalist pop album, four years after her excellent sophomore effort. Lead single Be Sweet remains irresistible, funky and huge sounding, with a killer chorus to boot. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is bewilderingly disappointing.

Plain synth chords trundle along over basic drum patterns, while Michelle Zauner’s vocal and instrumental melodies are at best forgettable, at worst totally insipid. There are no cheeky surprises, no jolts of ecstatic energy, between the aforementioned single and the beautiful, but totally out of place, slowcore ballad album closer. There are flecks of pop bliss here and there, like the groovy muted guitar flourishes in Slide Tackle, but they don’t save Jubilee from being a misfire.