The title of Japanese Breakfast’s album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)“, comes from the record’s first single, “Orlando In Love.” It’s a retelling of Orlando Innamorato, a Renaissance poem by Matteo Maria Boiardo, in which a knight pursues a princess through forests and castles and duels and wars. In singer, guitarist, and lyricist Michelle Zauner’s hands, the tale turns into the story of a poet living in a Winnebago by the sea who is tempted by a siren’s song. Temptation is a major theme of the album, and Zauner drew from her experience with becoming an overnight sensation after the success of her 2021 memoir, “Crying In H Mart”. Japanese Breakfast has been a cool-kid bellwether since their 2016 debut, “Psychopomp“, but with Zauner’s newfound mainstream fame, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)” might be the band’s major breakout, too.
Michelle Zauner has had a whirlwind few years, having released the best selling memoir “Crying In H Mart” as well as her acclaimed 2021 Japanese Breakfast album, “Jubilee”, which earned her two Grammy nominations. Her latest, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)“, finds Zauner scaling back, examining the “perils of desire” on a more understated set of songs produced by Blake Mills. Its first single, “Orlando In Love,” is gorgeously orchestrated, a more ornate kind of chamber pop than the brighter new wave of a song like “Be Sweet.”
from ‘For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)’, out March 21st on Dead Oceans.
The Fat Angel Sings 