Even though the two albums
I have from Japanese Breakfast
are titled after opposites on the
emotional spectrum, jubilation
and melancholy, when I listen
to Michelle Zauner’s music,
my own emotions run to the
former of the two. Even the sad
songs evoke joy for me. I may
be wiping tears from the corners,
but there is at the same time a well
of happiness for her unique voice
and masterful pop songwriting
and what strikes me as her optimistic
art. She must have a sense of this:
Jubilation is maybe fifty percent
sad and fifty percent jubilant,
while For Melancholy Brunettes
(& Sad Women), while a darker/quieter
record to be sure, is still balancing
nicely between the dark and the light.
I still walk away feeling good.
Not a belter, Michelle’s singing is an
understated, calming, intimate soprano,
and the soundscape over which she
sings her melodious and smart lyrics
is a multi-instrumental chamber pop,
absorbing, lively, and versatile.
Plenty of jubilation and melancholy
in just the right proportions.
Notes on the vinyl editions:
- Jubilee, Dead Oceans Records, 2020, yellow splatter on clear vinyl.
- For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women), Dead Oceans Records, 2025, gray with light blue and grey streaked vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 