“Over the course of promoting this new album I’ve often been asked to clarify the difference between melancholy and sadness. I think of melancholy as a kind of anticipatory grief, one that comes from an acknowledgment of the passage of time, from the recognition of mortality and finitude. In some way, too, I think it marks the artist’s condition, constantly observing through that lens,” Zauner says of the album. “‘Nothing thicker than a knife’s blade separates happiness from melancholy,’ Virginia Woolfe writes. I wanted this album to capture the moments where that knife slips. When people want too much, when they cede to temptation, when they are seduced and punished.”

Japanese Breakfast will be celebrating the album’s release by playing a sold out album release recital tomorrow, March 22nd at El Museo del Barrio in New York. Their tour in support of For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) kicks off with a performance at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA and continues with headline shows across North America and Europe this year. The Melancholy Tour is the band’s first tour in three years, following the Jubilee Tour in 2022. All tour dates can be found below and tickets are on-sale now via japanesebreakfast.rocks.

Upcoming tour dates:

Mar 22 – New York, NY @ El Museo del Barrio – SOLD OUT
Apr 12 & 19 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
Apr 23 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater *
Apr 24 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom *
Apr 26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle *
Apr 27 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore *
Apr 28 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
Apr 30 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
May 01 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed * – SOLD OUT
May 02 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed * – SOLD OUT
May 03 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
May 05 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall * – SOLD OUT
May 06 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall *
May 07 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway *
May 09 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * – SOLD OUT
May 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * – SOLD OUT
May 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * – SOLD OUT
May 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount *
May 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia *
May 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia * – SOLD OUT
Jun 03 – Sydney, AU @ Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House
Jun 05 – Melbourne, AU @ RISING at PICA
Jun 07 – Auckland, NZ @ Auckland Town Hall
Jun 11 – Tokyo, JP @ Zepp Shunkjuku
Jun 13 – Osaka, JP @ Club Quattro
Jun 15 – Cheorwon-gun, KR @ DMZ Peace Train Music Festival
Jun 21 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
Jun 24 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
Jun 25 – Stockholm, SE @ Filadelfia #
Jun 26 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA #
Jun 28 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
Jun 29 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 1 #
Jun 30 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland #
Jul 01 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol #
Jul 03 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton #
Jul 4-6 – Ewijk, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole 2025
Jul 05 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg #
Jul 08 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon #
July 10 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
July 27 – Portland, OR @ Project Pabst
Aug 23 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl *
Aug 27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic *
Aug 28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic * – SOLD OUT
Aug 30 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *
Sep 01 – Vancouver, BC @ The Orpheum *
Sep 02 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Amphitheater *
Sep 03 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Amphitheater *
Sep 05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Twilight Concert Series @ Pioneer Park * ^
Sep 06 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom *
Sep 09 – St Paul, MN @ The Palace Theater *
Sep 10 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee *

* w/ Ginger Root
# w/ Minhwi Lee
^ w/ Tomper

photos by Pak Bae

The post Japanese Breakfast heads out on world tour with new record appeared first on Quip Magazine.

This list is by no means comprehensive or superlative. I definitely slept on some albums this year. There is also no emphasis on the numerology of these albums. I loved them all equally and for different reasons, just like my plants. These are the albums that I kept putting on this year. These are the albums that struck me in such a way I knew I had to see these people live. They are the albums that shaped my 2017, which, it seems, wasn’t an easy year for most people.

Japanese Breakfast – Soft Sounds From Another Planet

I’ve been a fan of Michelle’s music since she came out with her debut album Psychopomp. In fact, it was on my list last year. Let’s also commend the fact that this woman has been churning out an album a year and backed each one with an extensive tour. Soft Sounds From Another Planet gets a nod because it shows her maturity as a songwriter. SSFAP encompasses shoegaze along with these epic soundscapes that rush over you like a warm wave like you’re dunking your head under in the bathtub. Perfect for a hazy evening filled with friends or the moment in the road trip when you enter a desert state and the sun starts to set.

Tyler The Creator – Scum Fuck Flower Boy

We see another album full of maturity but also sticking to what he knows best. Tyler the Creator has dropped a little of his riotous, rebellious side and showed a softer, perhaps even sexually fluid side: ”I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004” Most of the maturity is seen in Tyler’s own untangling of personal issues. Loneliness (Boredom), toxic friendship (I Ain’t Got Time!), and sexual frustration (garden shed, glitter). They are sprawled across this album which, by the way, has been nominated for a Grammy. Tyler is trying to mature and he does it via lyrics and a cleaner, shorter album. (He also produced it.) We see much more methodical transitions, like the fact that “See You Again” is a radio request. We still see facets of the old Tyler that we love. Take “Who Dat Boy” for instance, this is the Tyler we fell in love with in “Odd Future”. He sticks to tradition by keeping track ten a two-parter (my personal favorite) While Tyler is no saint and he’s by no means using this album to right his wrongs, he is showing he’s learned from his mistakes.

Priests – Nothing Feels Natural

This band’s name is almost too on the nose but that’s the psychotic perfection of Priests. They hail from DC which is very close to Baltimore which is the catholic epicenter of the United States. Nothing Feels Natural is also freakishly on point with how counter-Coulter or non-mainstream media is feeling this year with he-who-shall-not-be-named as president. NFN is at its heart a punk album but they did a fantastic job of weaving in indie, surf rock, and even jazz while frontwoman Greer croons, cries, and bellows to the crowd. This could be the anthem of the year for those feeling a little more than discontent with the current political climate.

NE-HI – Offers

These chitown boys did something very rare. They made a sophomore album that surpassed their debut one. Offers is the end result of them touring behind their debut and learning who they are as an actual band. They rely more on lyrics and thoughtful riffs. Offers itself is definitely a coming-of-age album for NE-HI. Balla said he wanted the record to be “something of an act of solidarity with people who are trying to figure it all out. There was a lot of pressure and exhaustion and self-discovery in the process of writing and recording. We were trying to find our voice and we’re proud of the one we found.” I think listeners will definitely hear this in the lyrics of tracks like “Stay Young”, “Offers”, and “Out of Reach”. While NE-Hi is trying something new lyrically, they stay true to their rattling, jangling guitars. Their psycho surf influence is still prevalent on tracks “Buried on the Moon” and “Every Dent”. Songs like “Prove” pep things up a bit, but we still have Mikey’s and Jason’s long, lingering vocals to draw us in.

Homeshake – Fresh Air

Some believe we’ve been following Homeshake on his journey of love since the beginning. In The Shower and Midnight Snack were about him lusting after and eventually “getting the girl.” All relationships experience lulls – and perhaps with the miscommunication vibe happening on Fresh Air, we’re witnessing the first lull of this relationship. The title could also be referring to that first gulp of fresh air once the honeymoon cloud of sex and snuggling has cleared and things become more real. The third album for Sagar put him on my list because it’s deeper than his last two while serving up some of the best singles he’s created with tracks “Every Single Thing,”“Call Me Up,” and “Khmlwugh.” Sagar’s third album is an easy listen. Perfect for coffee shops, house parties, or even a booty call.

Sandy (Alex G) – Rocket

This album has a crazy evolution. It starts out this typical, indie folk singer-songwriter type of thing and then morphs into something… that’s a little beyond words. The metamorphosis starts with the track “Horse” and then just propels on this trajectory through what I can only imagine are the chasms of Alex G’s mind. Through dark wave, to almost rap, to autotune, synth-pop, and light punk . Then “Judg” happens and were back to why people have been comparing Alex G to Elliott Smith. There’s also some borderline country/alt-country happening with the track “Powerful Man.” The reason why this made it onto my list is that fact that I haven’t figured it out yet, I keep going back to it, keep trying to figure out it’s narrative, if it even has one.

Vagabon – Infinite Worlds

Although this album is only eight tracks long is does an incredible job of encompassing a lot of big ideas, ideas somewhat but not entirely unknown to the indie rock genre. Ideas of communities and safe spaces are a big part of Tamko’s lyrics. In songs like “Cleaning House” and “The Embers” this is made apparent. Tamko’s incorporation of pedals and synths is truly beautiful and paints some sort of ethereal landscape. Especially on tracks like Mal a L’aise. This album made my list because of the overall triumphant air it puts out.

Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness

Byrne could be my generation’s answer to Joni Mitchell, not to say Miss Mitchell isn’t still relevant. But Byrne reminds me of Mitchell in the sense that here’s a woman with a haunting voice and captivating songwriting that punctures your hearts and lungs while trying to sing along. In her opener, she sings “To me, this city’s hell/ But I know you call it home/ I was made for the green/ Made to be alone”. This album came out two days before I moved from Chicago to Portland. Byrne is a traveler and a singular one at that. While Byrne IS writing love songs she also sings of herself. And while her lyrics are deep, her music is simple but not in a lacking way, in a way where it speaks for itself. It’s not all folky finger picking either. The track “I Live Now As A Singer” nods to herself and her generation and brings in some synthesized instrumentals.

Perfume Genius – No Shape

Just how Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love makes you want to run down hallways barefoot in a ballgown, Mike Hadreas’ No Shape does the same thing. It’s ravenous and undulating. There are actually quite a few similarities between the two albums. I think Hadreas might be paying homage to miss Bush. The video for “Slip Away” is almost a combination of the videos Bush shot for the title track on Hounds of Love and Running Up That Hill. The song Wreath even borrows a few lyrics from Bush. No Shape is a triumph because it allows the listeners (if they’ll let themselves) to throw away any shackles they’ve put on themselves. No Shape is also a proclamation of love and while Hadreas is happy to succumb to it, it can be overwhelming. It’s a beautiful album that rushes through the listeners like an irregular cold wind during a heat wave. You’re left appreciative but grasping for more.

The post Year-end roundup: Rose’s top albums of 2017 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Front woman Michelle Zauner is from Eugene (Oregon) so seeing Japanese Breakfast at the Holocene in Portland meant a sold out show and a packed guest list. The “Beaver state” is Zauner’s homestead and a place were she crafted Psychopomp, however the majority of her musical portfolio was created in Philadelphia. There she was a member of more than a few indie bands and where she dwells today. Supporting her on the tour was another band from Philadelphia, Mannequin Pussy, whom I highly recommend catching in concert as well.

Zauner entered the stage in lit up sneakers and a chic, contemporary stark white two-piece. She opened the set with “Diving Women” and then went into “In Heaven,” a track that opened up her debut album. She continued to rage through her small catalogue playing mostly tracks from the new album, Soft Sounds From Another Planet. This was my second time seeing Zauner this year at the same venue so I’m quite familiar with her on-stage mannerisms. This time, she did a little repeat performance and told a story about getting so inebriated at her bachelorette party in Portland that she got kicked out of a strip club…

While Psychopomp deals with the heaviest of all issues – death, Soft Sounds from Another Planet not only goes in a different direction lyrically but also incorporates way more synth and has a heavy dance quality to it. Zauner herself took to cutting a rug to more than a few tracks during her set. However, guitars are definitely the protagonists of the album. The 90s shoegaze that she first gained popularity for is still ever present. Zauner managed to do something noteworthy with her sophomore record and not only maintained her foundational sound but grew and evolved through the lyrics and concept of the album.

Once the set wraped up, she immediately headed down to the merch table to personally thank, sign, and greet all of her fans, something I don’t see very often. After getting my tote signed I told her how impressing it was that she came right down here, she replied with “Of course, it’s my band, where else would I be?”

Props Zauner.

The post Hometown hero: Japanese Breakfast at The Holocene appeared first on Quip Magazine.