The Japanese House enters a new chapter with ‘In the End It Always Does’
Amber Bain makes her return, offering a piece of herself and her life through her impressive sophomore album.
Photo: Bandcamp
For the first time since 2020, British singer-songwriter Amber Bain (known professionally as The Japanese House) has returned, releasing her unique second album In the End It Always Does, a personal look into her innermost thoughts. The record sees a collaboration between Bain and many of the industry’s finest, with production work from The 1975’s George Daniel and producer Chloe Kraemer, as well as collaboration and contributions from The 1975’s Matty Healy, MUNA’s Katie Gavin and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Each track is a piece of her life and herself, as she navigates the highs and lows of complicated relationships and what comes of their dissolvement.
The album’s familiar opening Spot Dog emmerges with a montage of distorted synths, pianos and strings forming a blissfully chaotic introduction to what is sure to be a complex and personal album for Bain. The track is a personalised rework of the theme from 101 Dalmations, her ex’s favourite film. The opening presents us with everything we love her for, from the introduction of her melodic vocals to her signature cruisey style, flavoured with a cinematic essence, giving us a taste of what is yet to come.
The youthful, playful energy of the follow up track Touching Yourself offers a familiar vibe to her previous works, providing us with yet another vibrant hit, and a perfect way to kick off a summer album. The track’s groovy blend of synths and catchy riffs provides hints of The 1975, not surprising due to the bands drummer George Daniel’s production contribution to the album. Touching Yourself is a perfect introduction to the album's continuous theme of presenting pain, sadness and desire in an uplifting light.
The album's second single Sad To Breathe deceives us with a more sombre introduction, making an entrance through ethereal harmonies and shimmering piano lines. However, all is not what it appears as the song takes a sudden yet satisfying turn, transforming into a bubbly, danceable track, laced together with impressive production. Yet behind its gleeful mask, the track once again deludes us, with its impressive but moody lyrics juxtaposing its instrumentation, highlighted by lyrics such as “I’m trying to change myself and it’s tiring”. Ultimately, Sad To Breathe proves itself a highlight track on the album and is a ‘sad disco’ anthem that will remain on our playlists for years to come.
The album’s fourth track Over There is intertwined with retro, synthy elements, comparable to 80’s pop ballads, yet unique to Bain’s very own style. It is more mellow than the album’s previous tracks, yet blends perfectly alongside them, with the reintroduction of strings and its slow build providing it with a cinematic aura. It is followed by another of the album’s many high points with Morning Pages, a moving collaboration with indie pop band MUNA. As if straight out of an A24 coming of age film, the track perfectly captures the feelings of both nostalgia and anticipation, always coming back to the line “It always comes back to her”.
Next comes the record’s first single Boyhood; a reflective, bright track, characterised through a satisfying blend of acoustic and synthesised production. It proves to be a perfect middle ground, and a valid choice for a lead single, summing up In the End It Always Does perfectly — both lyrically and instrumentally. It is followed by the mellow Indexical Reminder Of A Morning Well Spent, a track that perfectly captures exactly what its title suggests. Bain provides us with the feeling as though we are awakening on a sleepy summer morning, with its refreshing and tropical sound and simpler production providing a needed mellow and melancholy moment. But not for long… we are quickly picked back up again through the melancholy pop anthem Friends. The track is unexpected and surprising, drawing on more electronic elements than previous songs, to create distorted and slightly chaotic (in a good way) instrumentation, once again strongly echoing the influence of The 1975.
The energy is maintained through the record’s third single Sunshine Baby, a cruisy summer-esque track, representative of the acceptance of the end of a relationship. The track encapsulates the free feeling of a coastal drive, instantly sending listeners into a relaxed state, not too dissimilar to previous hits such as Saw You In A Dream. The track peaks through the introduction of the backing vocals, sung by The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy, whose deeper tones blend perfectly with Bain’s blissful sound.
Bain’s versatility is once again presented through the largely acoustic, wistful track Baby Goes Away, providing us with a more folky, vulnerable sound featuring pleasant harmonies that tie the piece together. We hear the album continue to tone itself down through its second last track You always get what you want, which allows Bain to showcase her lower vocalisation. At this point, we can feel the record coming to a close, with the adoption of a more relaxed and mature sound than previous tracks. Bain has reached a more peaceful and accepting stage of her journey.
The album concludes with One for Sorrow, Two for Joni Jones, a piano heavy track named after her ‘sausage dog’ which, of course, owes it’s namesake to Joni Mitchell. The simple, almost haunting track is a form of closure for both the album and the relationship Bain sings of, with reflective lyrics like “I wanna be free / Maybe I don’t subconsciously”. The melancholy track is a perfect end to the emotional journey that is In the End It Always Does, an impressive, well rounded record sure to leave its mark in the wide world of indie pop.
In the End It Always Does is out now via Dirty Hit.