Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women) (March 21, 2025) • Page 10

Weird first listen in that it feels a bit lacking in personality. Jubilee was incredible but this is just kinda there in comparison. A couple songs grabbed me though, and echoing that the Jeff Bridges feature is such an odd choice.

 

Jeff Bridges song is bad, need more listens on the rest

 

So I've been really thinking about how I feel towards this record the past week. I haven't read any interviews of Michelle on any of this, but I have a theory on how it came to be.

First off, this was my most anticipated record for the year. Jubilee tied with GLOW ON for my top AOTY in 2021. I had very high hopes. Definitely walked in with an elevated expectation that this was gonna blow me away. I didn't really like the Orlando single and LOVED Mega Circuit (very much Slide Tackle vibes to me) so much that I only listened to it a few times before the album came out to not overplay it.

That said, this has been an underwhelming release for me so far. It sounds incredible; lush, clear, some cool instrumentations but it's also very restrained and almost one-dimensional. There seem to be very little dynamics or crescendos at play throughout and that's such a departure from Jubilee. I guess it feels a bit tired and the lyrics have felt more like a poetry prompt to include wordy vocabulary and subject matter that just isn't relatable for me, which has been so surprising because Michelle has quickly become one of my favorite songwriters as of late.

I found myself constantly getting distracted while listening. Jubilee really pulled me in on the first few listens and had a chokehold on my very quickly. Once the record came in the mail on Monday, I sat down at the stereo and did my best to put my full attention towards it, but I still found myself struggling to not let my mind wander. The lyric sheet is even hard to read her cursive handwriting. I just felt a bit lost. And it also felt like once the songs finally got into a groove and pulled me in, they abruptly ended.

Obviously this is me being very critical, but I set the bar really high. It'll be great for background music when friends are over and Spring weather drives in the car. I hope it grows on me; I really do. But it just feels like it's missing life or passion.


So on to my theory-

Michelle had a huge ride into the spotlight in 2021 with the album and book release. ("Jimmy Fallon Big" if you will). Grammy nominations, Late night guest spots, topping book lists all over the place, etc.
I think there's a level of burnout that must hit when you're going through that jump in a career.
Couple that with the H Mart show/movie adaptation, the reported conflicts of butting heads with the creative team, pouring so much into the retelling of that story... I could totally see her putting all her efforts into that next phase and then for it to be shelved must have felt so shitty.

This record feels like it's missing something. Perhaps she hit a rough patch of writer's block and attempted to get another album cycle out before she becomes 'irrelevant". I bet that's why the H Mart filming got cancelled too. Books don't have the same kind of staying power in this day and age. They couldn't capitalize on it right away and churn out the content, so the studio probably cut bait thinking that if they waited too long nobody would be interested. On to the next thing. Props to Michelle on sticking to her guns on either telling that story the way she wanted it to be told or not tell it at all. To hand over your personal memoir for others to play around with is a very vulnerable place to be...


So, yeah. Lots of feelings over here. I really liked reading everyone's thoughts the past couple weeks and wanted to add my two cents in here. Thanks for reading if you did!

 

I have a feeling this record will age well and have a warmer reception when it isn't being analyzed directly under the shadow of Jubilee.

 

michelle is so devoted to her craft that i don’t really think her schedule or burnout had anything to do with it. i was a little surprised to hear it was written and recorded before she moved to seoul, but i think she’s just kind of a workaholic.

i think she went for a very specific vibe and executed in it. the “melancholy” thing definitely comes through strong and i think it’s intentionally meant to be a shift away from the pomp and circumstance of jubilee. right now it’s probably my least favorite japanese breakfast record, but i do thoroughly enjoy it. also not sure it’s fair to compare it to three of my favorite albums of the past 20 years only a week after release.

 

i will say that i think the best songs — honey water, mega circuit, picture window — are the ones with a little more bite than the rest of the track list.

 

I’m surprised people aren’t that into Orlando, song fuckin rules. The first four are all awesome and so is picture window. It’s just the other 5 are kinda boring and it’s not cuz they’re restrained necessarily, they just feel kind of mid as songs in comparison to how high her best material reaches.

 

On my second listen and I enjoyed it a lot more

 

For the record, I didn't LOVE Jubilee either. Soft Sounds is an all timer though. There’s a few good songs on here and a handful of great moments but a lot of it is just unremarkable and kind of blends together. I acknowledge it might be a grower, but after five or so listens I just have no desire to come back to it.

 

B&N has an exclusive variant for 15% off on top of the 20% I get as a member, so I got a really beautiful variant for like $20. Really love this record, probably tied with Soft Sounds for my second favorite from her.

 

after sitting with it for a couple weeks, i still think it’s my least favorite, but it’s a very strong album.

 

Massive performance! what a song

 

Watching the Coachella performance, they’re crushing it five songs in. Great setlist

 

I liked Mega Circuit even more in this session! Despite Honey Water being the better song on record (for my taste)