Released

When the rock kids go disco there can be mixed results. It can often be seen as “selling out,” making more accessible music to sell more records and get more fame, instead of what it usually is; exploring one’s personal tastes that branch out further than two guitars and a drum kit and putting it down on wax. Case in point; Japanese Breakfast’s Jubilee succeeds as being both a shining creative breakthrough for frontwoman Michelle Zauner and one of the best pop albums of the decade. The jumps from European folk tinged “Paprika” to dancefloor earworm “Be Sweet” to sixties lounge dream “Kokomo, IN” feels like a friend showing you their record collection. The amount of confidence it takes to twist your influences into something unique is absolutely apparent here, a beacon announcing the continued evolution of The Michelle Zauner Sound. 

Alex Riggs