For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is Japanese Breakfast’s newest album, coming in with a more country/folk sound than their past three albums. Composed with 10 tracks total, it is in fact melancholic in guitar medleys as well as lyrics that are contemplative and painful.
“Here is Someone” opens the album with pretty, flowery sounds. This is reminiscent to me of sitting outdoors on the porch overlooking the sky and countryside, while a windchime chants softly and greenery sways along in an existential way. This sets the common theme throughout the rest of the album, going along with the country aroma and moodiness.
“Orlando in Love” was the first single released for the album a few months prior. This is one of my favorites, it’s deeply dreamy and romantic. The guitar and violin pair beautifully well together to create this serenade/siren-like song. The third track “Honey Water” has an amped up but also dreary guitar medley with the lyrics that tell a tale of a leaving lover is why this song is also one of my favorites.
“Mega Circuit” makes me want to throw on some boots and kick up some dust dancing with someone confusingly charming. It deeply plays into the country theme and ponders the feeling of being attracted to someone you probably shouldn’t be.
“Little Girl” and “Leda” contains soft guitar instrumentals that feels like they’re raining all around you and lyrics that have a little kick to them. Another common theme throughout the album is the topic of alcohol and it’s affects. In “Little Girl”, this appears to be a yearn for a daughter who has grown up and does not reach out, the mention of alcohol indicates this caused the distance. In “Leda”, this seems to discuss the pain of loving someone who has a drinking problem.
“Picture Window” is next and is another amped up song, but the lyrics have more tender yearning feelings, wishing for her lover to come back to Earth and to stop looking out into the distance elsewhere, escaping themselves.
“Men in Bars” is a revamped song from a past collaboration with BUMPER originally titled “Ballad 0”. In this new version, we get a feature with Jeff Bridges, acclaimed actor, and part-time singer as well. The original version has more dreamy vocals against a piano track while, as you can guess, this new version has a folk twist to it. This song explores the feeling of cheating on your lover, that you never would dream of doing and coming back to center realizing what you have isn’t worth leaving.
Not to be fooled by the more up-beat sound in “Winter in LA”, it starts off with, “I wish you had a happier woman”, and this is the central feeling of the song, the push and pull emotion of wanting to be happier but also wanting their partner to have someone happier and warm alike to the sun.
“Magic Mountain” ends the album on a subtly romantic note, with more sonder, pretty guitar carrying the song. This song brings the feeling of change on the way, and a promise to be with their lover long-time, even in death. It ends with the lyric, “Bury me beside you in the shadow of the mountain”, which I found to be beautiful way to end this album with all its trials and tribulations with self and their partner.
Overall, I really enjoyed the album. The more I play it the more I love it, I can’t help but to move around! I love the guitar medleys throughout every song and always appreciative of lead singer Michelle Zauner’s songwriting and creative vision for her music.
-Brieana Scandura
