Michelle Zauner has had to spend a lot of time in front of a lot of people the last few years. In 2021, the indie rock musician released her poignant memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” which went on to spend 55 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. Later in the year, Zauner’s band, Japanese Breakfast, exploded with “Jubilee.”
The album, Zauner’s third as Japanese Breakfast, was immediately well-received for the band’s dream pop turn and the joy on the record. “Jubilee” earned a Grammy nomination for best alternative music album, and Japanese Breakfast received a best new artist nod. Tours filled the next few years.
“I was really showcasing a really extroverted, joyful and playful side of myself, and then after touring that album for three years and doing these boisterous in-your-face songs, I think I naturally missed playing the guitar,” Zauner says.
Like how some people may follow up a busy, socially active week by staying home for a bit, Zauner says, she decided to swing in the opposite direction on the latest Japanese Breakfast album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women).”
“After being so extroverted, I found myself feeling introverted and melancholic and wanting to explore that side of me,” Zauner says. “Naturally you want to express different sides of yourself, and that’s what I wanted with this record, something that was a little moodier and a little more contemplative.”
“For Melancholy Brunettes” was released in March, and Japanese Breakfast has been spending much of this year on tour, including a New Orleans show at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at the Joy Theater. California indie pop artist SPELLLING will open.
The album is, in fact, full of melancholy, but rather than darkness and mourning, it’s the kind of romantic perception of sadness that’s inspired countless poets, artists and musicians. Zauner has explored personal grief in her past work, particularly on the first Japanese Breakfast album, “Psychopomp,” following her mother’s death. Her memoir also is a touching reflection on her mother, family and grief as well as growing up as a Korean-American in Oregon.
“For Melancholy Brunettes” draws on thoughts about her father and questions about success, but Zauner also turns outward to imagine the stories of a man living by the sea in a Winnebago RV, a woman married to an unfaithful man and disillusioned incels.
The murder ballad-esque “Men in Bars,” which features actor Jeff Bridges, was inspired by the Kenny Rogers classic “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town.” And there’s a number of literary Easter eggs in the lyrics amid the guitar-forward, string-heavy indie rock.
Across the 10 years Zauner has been recording as Japanese Breakfast, she always worked with friends at their homes or warehouse studios to make records happen. But “For Melancholy Brunettes” was recorded at the famed Sound City Studios, and the band turned to guitarist Blake Mills, who has worked with Fiona Apple and Bob Dylan, to produce it.
“I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and be challenged,” Zauner says.
She says she learned a lot from the experience and that it was good to be in the back seat in terms of production decisions. But she expects she’ll be “in a more directorial role” for the next album.
After living with the introverted “For Melancholy Brunettes” for a while, Zauner says she may be ready to turn her attention back to boisterous, outgoing pop songs.
“Now when I put out a record, I really live with it for quite a long time,” she says. “It impacts my life in a real way. So it’s natural that what I write about is kind of responding to that experience. Now that I’ve had this moody, artsy record, I’m like, ‘Oh, I really want to make something really poppy and something I can enjoy and dance to again.’”
Find the band at japanesebreakfast.rocks. Tickets for the Oct. 10 show are $33.35 via thejoytheater.com.
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