Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast detail new LP, share "Machinist" video ++ updated tour dates

Japanese Breakfast leader Michelle Zauner recently revealed in an interview with Rachel Goswell of her current tourmates Slowdive that their new album — and first for Dead Oceans — would be out this July. Now details on that album are finally here. It’s called Soft Sounds From Another Planet, and it comes out on July 14 (pre-order). The first single is “Machinist,” which you may know if you’ve seen Japanese Breakfast live lately — she usually introduces it as a love song about a robot. The song has Michelle bouncing back and forth between creepy spoken word and very robotic auto-tune. It’s a great song, and a clear step forward from her already-great 2016 debut Psychopomp. It also has a sax solo. Watch the video below.

Speaking about the video, Michelle says, “This is my fourth music video working collaboratively with my Director of Photography, Adam Kolodny. The song is a sci-fi narrative about a woman who falls in love with a robot. In the video she hallucinates on rocket fuel and tears apart her spaceship in an attempt to build a body for her robot lover.” Director Adam Kolodny adds, “We looked at a ton of sci-fi references to piece together our world. We were inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, 2046, and The Fifth Element.”

Michelle co-produced the album with Craig Hendrix (who also co-produced the debut album by Michelle’s band Little Big League) and Jorge Elbrecht. Check out the artwork and tracklist below.

Japanese Breakfast’s ongoing tour with Slowdive is about to land in NYC for two nights at Brooklyn Steel (May 8 & 9). Night 1 is sold out, but night 2 is still on sale.

After that, Japanese Breakfast heads on tour with (Sandy) Alex G and Cende. That tour hits NYC on July 6 at Music Hall of Williamsburg (sold out) and July 7 at Bowery Ballroom (tickets). Alex G also has a sold-out NYC show without JB on May 18 at the Park Church Co-Op.

Then after all that, JB has a few shows with Tegan & Sara. All dates are listed below.

Alex G also released two more songs off his upcoming album Rocket (due 5/19 via Domino) today. You can listen to those below too.

Tracklist
1. Diving Woman
2. Road Head
3. Machinist
4. Planetary Ambience
5. Soft Sounds From Another Planet
6. Boyish
7. 12 Steps
8. Jimmy Fallon Big
9. Body Is A Blade
10. Till Death
11. This House
12. Here Come The Tubular Bells

Japanese Breakfast Soft Sounds

Japanese Breakfast — 2017 Tour Dates
5/5 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall ~
5/6 – Montreal, QC @ Olympia Theatre ~
5/7 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ~
5/8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ~
5/9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ~
6/2 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel *
6/3 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter *
6/4 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (Back Room) *
6/6 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Purgatory) *
6/7 – Orlando, FL @ The Social *
6/9 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
6/10 – Austin, TX @ The Parish *
6/11 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada *
6/13 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge *
6/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex *
6/16 – San Diego, CA @ The Irenic *
6/17 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
6/18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel *
6/20 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile *
6/21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt *
6/22 – Portland, OR @ Holocene *
6/24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
6/25 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
6/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry *
6/28 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge *
6/29 – Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness *
6/30 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s *
7/1 – Detroit, MI @ El Club *
7/2 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground *
7/4 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB *
7/5 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
7/6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
7/7 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
7/8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
7/27 – Halifax, NS @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium ^
7/28 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre ^
7/29 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom ^
7/31 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues ^
8/2 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater ^

~ w/ Slowdive
* w/ (Sandy) Alex G & Cende
^ w/ Tegan & Sara