On March 21, indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast released its fourth album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).” The record comes four years after the band’s previous album, “Jubilee,” and lead singer Michelle Zauner’s memoir, “Crying in H Mart.”
The lyrics of Japanese Breakfast’s early work, as well as the content of Zauner’s memoir, centered around her grief following the death of her mother. On “For Melancholy Brunettes,” the band’s explorations of sadness are not as grief-centric. Instead, Japanese Breakfast is more concerned with the concept of sadness itself.
Album opener “Here is Someone” is a soft, twinkling song about how the hardships of daily life are made bearable by human connection. Zauner does a magnificent job of combining romantic euphoria with the hazy depression intrinsic to the modern world. The song’s pensive beauty sets the stage for the rest of the album.
Lead single “Orlando in Love” is a deeply sensuous song inspired by literature. In an interview with Uproxx, Zauner shared that the title comes from Matteo Maria Boiardo’s epic poem, “Orlando Innamorato.” In the track’s dreamy music video, Zauner portrays the poet while her androgynous attire recalls “Orlando” by Virginia Woolf.
Zauner told Uproxx the song feels “like the perfect thesis statement for an album that is largely about people — often men — who find themselves seduced by temptation and are duly punished for it.”
“Honey Water” is the longest song on the record, clocking in at almost five minutes. The track is a return to the band’s shoegaze-inspired sound that dominated its earlier records. Zauner sings about a push-and-pull relationship that ultimately leaves her feeling ambivalent. Toward the end, she repeats “so it goes, I don’t mind” before descending into a barrage of otherworldly synths and distorted guitars.
“Mega Circuit” is an indie rock track wherein Zauner touches upon the dangers of toxic masculinity in the social media age. The track ends with the lines “Deep in the soft hearts of young boys so pissed off and jaded, carrying dull prayers of old men cutting holier truths,” addressing how misogynistic beliefs are passed down through generations.
Folksy ballad “Little Girl” is told from the “point of view of a father who regrets the decisions he's made that's led to an estrangement with his daughter,” according to a Zauner interview with NPR.
This song is likely autobiographical, as Zauner revealed she is not on speaking terms with her father in a 2021 Harper’s Bazaar essay.
“Leda” serves as a response to “Little Girl,” in which Zauner uses Greek mythology as a metaphor for the distance between her and her father.
“I’m thinking of all the Grecian gods, the men they all played to get what they want,” she sings quietly over stripped-back production.
Her lyrics delve into the gray area of feelings toward her father: She has been immensely wounded by him, yet she is always thinking about him, pondering what a reconciliation would be like.
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Thanks to Zauner’s emotional vulnerability, “Little Girl” and “Leda” are the emotional heart of the album.
The upbeat production of “Picture Window” stands in stark contrast with the lyrics, which find Zauner zeroing in on relationship anxiety, wondering why her partner can be so calm while she is a nervous wreck. Her grief worms its way into her relationship, as seen in the line “all of my ghosts are my home.”
“Men in Bars” is a country tune about the dissolution of a relationship, with a guest appearance from actor Jeff Bridges. Their voices mesh beautifully on the chorus, but Bridges’ verses are awkward; his raspy voice doesn’t work with the rest of the album’s gentle vocals.
“Winter in LA” takes influence from 1960s pop, but its bright sound belies Zauner’s bleak lyrics. She sings about being unable to be the person she thinks her partner needs, as seen in her apathy towards the titular season and city.
Album closer “Magic Mountain” is classic folk; again, Zauner uses androgynous imagery to comment on ever-shifting gender roles in her relationships and society at large. By referring to herself as both a king and a bride, she refuses to limit herself.
“For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)” is a stunning, thought-provoking record that lives up to the four-year wait — one that further cements Japanese Breakfast as one of the most exciting bands in today’s indie scene.
Elijah Ritch is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
