Japanese Breakfast‘s “Jubilee” Album Download MP3 ZIP Files
Jubilee is the third studio album by American alternative pop band, Japanese Breakfast. It was released on June 4th, 2021 through Dead Oceans.
This spring, Michelle Zauner, the musician, author, director, and food enthusiast behind Japanese Breakfast, declared that Jubilee would be a celebration of joy after years of feeling defined by her writing about grief, following the loss of her mother to cancer in 2014.
The album features triumphant horns and swooping strings, giving it a lush chamber pop feel, and includes a few killer pop songs, such as “Posing in Bondage” and “Be Sweet”. Jubilee is a perfect example of pop’s fluidity, as it bridges the gap between dream pop and electropop. It’s an exuberant listen that feels of the moment and also steeped in classic indie sensibilities, packed with Zauner’s sharp observations and frank desires.
The opening track, “Paprika,” has martial snares, bubbling orbs of synth, and horns that practically announce “I’m here!”. The lyrics colorfully illustrate the blessing and the burden of getting to express yourself creatively for a living. The song itself comes to life with a playful sense of grandeur that’s hard not to get swept up in.
The beginning of the album thrives on this current while accommodating numerous styles. Swooning small-town ode “Kokomo, IN” channels Belle and Sebastian at their most orchestral, “Slide Tackle” splits the difference between Arthur Russell’s lo-fi disco and Carly Rae Jepsen’s sax moments, and “Posing in Bondage,” with its striking vocal effects and flickering synths that bring to mind flashing tones, is like Zauner’s more guitar-driven take on Lorde’s Melodrama. They’re all quite different and yet feel perfectly at home next to one another on this mission to sustain bliss.
