The song I’m talking about came out as a single last year, but the video came out this year and I’ve only heard about it through the video. By my initial rules, this very much counts.

Michelle Zauner’s solo project, Japanese Breakfast, is an act that I keep thinking is not my thing, yet I keep getting attracted by the singles. I tried listening to Soft Sounds From Another Planet when it first came out and left it feeling like it was TOO soft. Yet, “Machinist”, the song that got me interested in listening to the album, was one of my favorite songs of last year and was on my jogging playlist for almost half of a year. “Machinist” is soft, but in an electric space auto-tune kind of way. It also has a saxophone. It’s a great song, you should try it.

Now, “Boyish” is a much softer sound that you play when you’re winding down from a long day. It’s got guitar strumming and a nice little riff that gives me Layla vibes if Layla wanted you to drift into the night very softly. I make use of the word soft commonly because I think Japanese Breakfast makes for a good pillow of music. I’m writing this is in bed, by the way, and I’m very cozy.

I love how cheeky the chorus is with “I can’t get you off my mind, I can’t get you off in general.” It’s borderline crass, but it tells the whole story of unrequited love surrounded by this beautiful melody. Zauner sounds like she’s calling out for love in a fog, knowing well enough the futility of the effort.

It’s a lovely track that hopefully will finally get me to give Japanese Breakfast another shot.

Too soft?

I basically covered “Machinist” earlier, but as a recap, if you want an energetic space electronic song, give it a try.