I love it when I discover a record that hooks me.

There are only a few that really do it for me each year, but hearing ‘Jubilee’ Japanese Breakfast absolutely did just that.

I was aware of Michelle Zauner and listened with great intrigue to her earlier work including soft sounds from another planet. A lot of female artists are out there doing work that isn’t confined to the constraints of specific genres or sound worlds and it is some of the most innovative music I’ve heard. I wonder if Male artists find it more challenging to do this and if so, why?

Her voice is lovely, but so is the production. Not least starting with the fact that I can hear guitars on a pop record. They are creative guitar parts as well. Some amazing funky popping lines and passages.

I haven’t dived into the lyrics but there’s something ethereal and otherworldly about Zauner’s music and there is moments of introspection and joy to be heard.

The single ‘be sweet’ very much sums this up with it’s reflective verses, contrasted with a chorus that cries for genuine affection.

If you like music that is different and has a lot more depth to anything you’d hear on the radio, this record will definitely interest you.