Japanese Breakfast is an Alternative Pop band fronted by American Singer-Songwriter Michelle Zauner who pens all of the band's songs. Other band members include Craig Hendrix, Peter Bradley and Deven Craige.
Michelle started her music career in 2009 with the band Birthday Girlz and she later formed the punk act Little Big League in 2011. The band dissolved after Michelle decided to focus on a solo career under the Japanese Breakfast moniker. Notable themes in her music are her Asian American heritage and the passing of her mother and how she grieves through it. Another side-project of hers is BUMPER, a collaboration with Ryan Galloway (of Crying fame). On top of the music she produces, she's also directed some music videos for them.
Fitting with the name of her band, Michelle is also a writer whose main field of work is Asian food. She released a memoir called Crying in H Mart which went on to be a New York Times nonfiction best-seller.
Discography
- 2013 - June
- 2014 - American Sound (EP)
- 2014 - Where is my Great Big Feeling ? (EP)
- 2016 - Psychopomp
- 2017 - Soft Sounds from Another Planet
- 2021 - Jubilee
- 2021 - Sable (video game soundtrack)
Bibliography:
- 2021 - Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
Their work contains examples of:
- Band of Relatives: Michelle Zauner and Peter Bradley are married.
- Celebrity Song: "Jimmy Fallon Big" from Soft Sounds from Another Planet.
- Dream Pop
- Face on the Cover: On all of her albums except Psychopomp which features a picture of Michelle's mother.
- Grief Song: Psychopomp was partially composed in memory of Michelle's mother. She can be heard on the title track of that album.
- I Am the Band: Michelle Zauner has written all of the lyrics of the band's discography and not all other band members appear on each album, focusing instead on live performances.
- Indie Pop
- Male Band, Female Singer: Except the lone female singer is also the songwriter and co-producer of the band.
- Mistaken Ethnicity: Due to the name of the band, Michelle has often been mistaken for Japanese despite being Half-Korean.
- Genre Shift: Michelle's pre-Japanese Breakfast work drew more influence from Emo Music and Alternative Rock, while Japanese Breakfast itself has more pop influences.
- Non-Indicative Name: Michelle is of Korean descent, despite what the name of her band could imply.
- Pop-Star Composer: She composed the soundtrack to the 2021 video game Sable.
- Psychedelic Rock
- Questioning Title?: Her second EP Where is my Great Big Feeling ?
- Record Producer: Michelle Zauner and Craig Hendrix co-produced the band's albums.
- Renaissance Woman: Singer-Songwriter, composer, producer, writer and director.
- Shoegazing: The main genre of Soft Sounds from Another Planet
- Spoken Word in Music: The title track of Psychopomp features a vocal message of Michelle's mother.
- Vocal Tag Team: Sam Cook-Parrot sings the lead vocals of "Everybody wants to love you" along with Michelle.
