For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) vinyl

Michelle Zauner's music is lovely as ever on this, her fourth Japanese Breakfast album. Again, it's a thing of exciting beauty and big emotions, soft sounds and melancholic melodies. Harmonies that wrap us in thoughts of pure romance and falling head over heels, these sepia hued images cast from the memory bank of treasured moments made painful, then reflective and warming, by the passing of time. Clearly part of the loved and lost club, Zauner's songs almost feel effortless in their ability to invoke such tangible and raw feelings without really insisting on themselves. This is thoughtfulness with a capital T, set against a meandering backdrop of soft rock, indie balladry, and swooning string pop. As complex as it is easy to fathom - the unmistakable work of a human artist.