Jubilee (Japanese Breakfast album)

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Jubilee
Album Cover - Jubilee (Japanese Breakfast album).jpeg
Studio album by
Japanese Breakfast
ReleasedJune 4, 2021
Genre
Length36:59
LabelDead Oceans
Producer
Japanese Breakfast chronology
Soft Sounds from Another Planet
(2017) 		Jubilee
(2021)
Singles from Jubilee
  1. "Be Sweet"
    Released: March 2, 2021[3]
  2. "Posing in Bondage"
    Released: April 8, 2021[4]
  3. "Savage Good Boy"
    Released: May 19, 2021[5]

Jubilee is the third studio album by American indie project Japanese Breakfast. It was released on June 4, 2021, through Dead Oceans.[6] The album comes shortly after the release of bandleader Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart, on April 20, 2021.[7]

Zauner said about the album, "After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy".[8]

Themes and composition[]

Zauner has described the album as being about joy.[9] This is in contrast to her previous two albums, Psychopomp and Soft Sounds from Another Planet, both of which had prevalent themes of grief surrounding her mother's death from pancreatic cancer in 2014.[10]

Zauner took music theory lessons and studied piano in preparation for Jubilee. She noted "I was just able to incorporate more interesting chord changes and write more on piano for the first time."[11]

Release and promotion[]

The first single, "Be Sweet", and its self-directed music video were released on March 2, 2021. In the X-Files-inspired video, Zauner and Marisa "Missy" Dabice act as FBI Agents tracking aliens.[12] To promote the album, on March 15, Japanese Breakfast performed the songs "Be Sweet" and "Jimmy Fallon Big!" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[13][14]

The second single, "Posing in Bondage", and its music video were released on April 8, 2021. The video, also directed by Zauner, depicts her entering a grocery store late at night while covered in blood. The store is empty except for a single employee, played by Harmony Tividad.[15]

The third single, "Savage Good Boy", was released on May 19, 2021.[16] Zauner said in a statement about the song, "'Savage Good Boy' came from a headline I read about billionaires buying bunkers. I was interested in examining that specific type of villainy, and I found myself adopting the perspective of a rich man coaxing a young woman to come live with him underground, attempting to rationalize his almost impossible share of greed and miserliness".[17] The video, directed by Zauner, features actor Michael Imperioli and is a prequel to the previous video for "Posing in Bondage". In it, Imperioli plays the billionaire in a bunker, with Zauner as the young woman he has convinced to live underground with him.[18]

Japanese Breakfast performed three songs from the album on CBS This Morning, the day after the album's release.[19] A version of "Be Sweet" with vocals in the fictional Simlish language is included in the eleventh expansion pack for the The Sims 4, Cottage Living, released on July 22, 2021.[20]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.5/10[21]
Metacritic88/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[23]
Clash9/10[24]
DIY5/5 stars[25]
Exclaim!9/10[26]
The Independent5/5 stars[2]
NME4/5 stars[27]
Pitchfork7.8/10[28]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[29]
Slant Magazine4/5 stars[30]
Uncut7/10[31]

Jubilee was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 19 reviews.[22] Zack Ruskin of Variety wrote in his review that the album "takes all the things that have always served Japanese Breakfast well – Zauner's awareness of her voice and how best to deploy it, her knack for narrative and story as well as great hooks – and offers them fresh soil in which to grow".[32] Clash magazine's Sam Walker-Smart found Zauner to be "fully unshackled for the first time, keeping the emotive core of her songwriting and marrying it with boundless energy and ambition".[24] Sean Kerwick of DIY also observed maturation in the singer, describing her as "older and wiser with melody, lyrics and storytelling pulling focus" with results that establish her as a dominant "creative force".[25] "Each track is a confined attempt at gaiety, a succinct story in service of this greater mission of uninhibited emotion", Exclaim!'s Alisha Mughal wrote, adding that the emotion is "ultimately, hopefully joy".[26] Tom Hull was somewhat less impressed, regarding the album's first half as "glorious pop", but concluding that the rest "tails off a bit".[33]

Track listing[]

Jubilee track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Paprika"3:40
2."Be Sweet"3:15
3."Kokomo, IN"3:38
4."Slide Tackle"3:39
5."Posing in Bondage"4:05
6."Sit"3:07
7."Savage Good Boy"2:26
8."In Hell"2:38
9."Tactics"3:53
10."Posing for Cars"6:38
Total length:36:59

Personnel[]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[34]

Musicians[]

  • Michelle Zauner – vocals, production, bass (4), piano (7), acoustic guitar (3), electric guitar (6, 7, 8, 10), percussion (1), synthesizers (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10) string arrangements (1, 3, 9), horn arrangements (1)
  • Craig Hendrix – production (1–4, 6–10), drums (1–4, 7–10), bass (1, 3, 6–10), electric guitar (4, 8), acoustic guitar (10), slide guitar (3), Rhodes (9), piano (10), synthesizers (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), percussion, string arrangements (1, 3, 9), horn arrangements (1, 4, 8), vocals (8), engineering
  • Jack Tatum – production, synthesizers, programming, electric guitar, E-bow electric guitar, bass, vocals, engineering (2, 5)
  • Ryan Galloway – production, electric guitar, synthesizers (4)
  • Alex Giannascoli – production, Rhodes, piano, synthesizers (7)
  • Molly Germer – violin (1, 3, 9)
  • Veronica Jurkiewicz – viola (1, 3, 9)
  • Carolina Diazgranados – cello (1, 3, 9)
  • Adam Schatz – saxophone (1, 4, 8)
  • Aaron Rockers – trumpet (1, 4, 8)
  • Adam Dotson – trombone (1, 4, 8)

Additional engineers[]

  • Alex Santilli – additional engineering (1, 3, 9)
  • Eric Bogacz – additional engineering (1, 3, 9)

Artwork[]

  • Michelle Zauner – creative direction
  • Peter Ash Lee – photography
  • Evaline Huang – production design
  • Peter Bradley – production assistant
  • Cecelia Liu – styling
  • Maiko Waki – hair and makeup
  • Nathaniel David Utesch – layout, design

Charts[]

Chart performance for Jubilee
Chart (2021) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 77
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 53
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] 3
US Billboard 200[39] 56
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[40] 7
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[41] 7
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[42] 8

References[]

  1. ^ Giouras, Philip (June 3, 2021). "Album Review: Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee | Gigwise". gigwise.com. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nugent, Annabel; O'Connor, Roisin (June 3, 2021). "Album reviews: Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee, and Liz Phair – Soberish". The Independent. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. ^ Moore (March 2, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast announces new album 'Jubilee' and shares 'Be Sweet'". NME. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Rettig (April 8, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast – "Posing In Bondage"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan (May 19, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Enlists Michael Imperioli for New "Savage Good Boy" Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Jubilee, by Japanese Breakfast". Japanese Breakfast. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Moreland (March 8, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Is Working the Pain Away". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Hussey (March 2, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Announces New Album Jubilee, Shares Video for New Song "Be Sweet": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "Japanese Breakfast announces new album 'Jubilee'". DIY. March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Davies, Ava Wong (May 18, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast on Jubilee and Crying in H Mart: 'I hadn't purged everything I needed to'". i. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Raeburn, Brandon (May 19, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast on her new album 'Jubilee': "I'm giving myself permission to feel and explore joy for the first time"". Bandwagon Asia. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Leas (March 2, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast – "Be Sweet"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Blistein (March 16, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Deliver Slick 'Be Sweet' on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  14. ^ Renshaw (March 16, 2021). "Watch Japanese Breakfast perform "Be Sweet" on Jimmy Fallon". The Fader. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Martoccio (April 8, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Drops Spooky 'Posing in Bondage' Video, Announces Tour Dates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  16. ^ Corcoran, Nina (May 19, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Shares New Single "Savage Good Boy": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Rettig, James (May 19, 2021). "Michael Imperioli Stars In Japanese Breakfast's New "Savage Good Boy" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  18. ^ Peters, Daniel (May 20, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast shares 'Savage Good Boy' music video starring Michael Imperioli of 'The Sopranos'". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Kreps, Daniel (June 5, 2021). "See Japanese Breakfast Perform 'Jubilee' Songs on 'CBS This Morning'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  20. ^ Campbell, Ian Carlos (June 10, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast did a Simlish cover for The Sims 4 because nonsense never gets old". The Verge. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  23. ^ Collar, Matt (June 11, 2021). "Jubilee – Japanese Breakfast". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Walker-Smart, Sam (June 2, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee". Clash. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b Kerwick, Sean (June 3, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee". DIY. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Mughal, Alisha (June 2, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast's 'Jubilee' Celebrates Life in All of Its Heartbreaking Beauty". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Richards, Will (June 3, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast – 'Jubilee' review: indie rocker's bold statement of ambition". NME. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  28. ^ Mapes, Jillian (June 7, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  29. ^ Shaffer, Claire (June 4, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Dances Through Grief on 'Jubilee'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  30. ^ Lyons-Burt, Charles (May 29, 2021). "Review: With Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast Embraces Life with Surprising Exuberance". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  31. ^ O'Connell, Sharon (July 2021). "Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee". Uncut. No. 290. p. 27.
  32. ^ Ruskin, Zack (June 4, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Takes a Turn Toward the Bright(er) Side on 'Jubilee': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  33. ^ Hull, Tom (June 14, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull on – the Web. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  34. ^ Jubilee (liner notes). Japanese Breakfast. Dead Oceans. 2021. DOC225.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  39. ^ "Japanese Breakfast Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  40. ^ "Japanese Breakfast Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  41. ^ "Japanese Breakfast Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  42. ^ "Japanese Breakfast Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
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