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9.1
97682
9.1 |
A.V. Club
Japanese Breakfast masks internal strife and insecurities with artfully upbeat experiments
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9.0
97716
9.0 |
The Digital Fix
There’s something sublime, a little nervous even, in its palliative loveliness as it falls through space and time into, an optimistically brighter, future
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9.0
98071
9.0 |
God Is In The TV
Her endearing humanity combined with her gift for songwriting helps make this one of the most remarkable albums of the year
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8.5
97742
8.5 |
The 405
Recognises why we persist with love
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8.3
97688
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
A sophomore album that embraces the beautiful and painful architecture of the world
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8.1
97781
8.1 |
Paste Magazine
Soft Sounds is full of pretty interludes of ambient noise, mixed with shoegaze and electropop touches
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8.0
97733
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
This album is anything but a fad. It hangs around long after you listen, subdued but resolute in its capabilities. It is very much here to stay
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8.0
97735
8.0 |
Pitchfork
Inspired by the cosmos, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner addresses life on Earth. Her voice shines over melancholic arrangements, evoking Pacific Northwest indie rock as much as shoegaze
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8.0
97690
8.0 |
The Skinny
Moving and inspired, Soft Sounds From Another Planet is yet another lesson in guitar pop perfection
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8.0
97683
8.0 |
All Music
The move to a bigger sound results in a sure-handed modern pop record full of memorable songs, heart-wrenching vocals, and bottomless emotional depth
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8.0
97684
8.0 |
The Guardian
Dreamlike and existential
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8.0
97685
8.0 |
The Quietus
Japanese Breakfast is turning into an artist with much to adore, unabashedly authentic but creating music that we can still all see a little bit of ourselves in
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8.0
97686
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Michelle Zauner has moved beyond mourning to a solace far more celestial, communicating her grief through these poignant musical prayers aimed directly at the heavens and beyond
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8.0
97687
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Her sophomore record is dense, full of life, and full of fascinating sounds
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8.0
98115
8.0 |
Q
It's indie pop with a brain and a soul. Print edition only
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8.0
97821
8.0 |
PopMatters
As the reach of Japanese Breakfast’s technique has grown Zauner seems to have found a better way inside herself and, thus, a better way inside of us too
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8.0
97959
8.0 |
State
Zauner has created a magical soundscape, with influences drawn from space and all things alien, but she has kept her music grounded in human emotions and complexities that make it relatable to all of us here on Earth
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7.7
98285
7.7 |
Earbuddy
Zauner is a songwriter in the traditional sense. Solid melodies float throughout the LP, but she also knows how to weave in her own telltale flourishes
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7.5
97828
7.5 |
Spectrum Culture
She’s a songwriter with big ideas and the capability to deftly express them, something that she does to great effect here
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7.0
97689
7.0 |
Crack
Co-produced by Ariel Pink collaborator Jorge Elbrecht and Craig Hendrix (who worked with Zauner’s former band Little Big League) Soft Sounds From Another Planet is much more polished than its predecessor
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7.0
97725
7.0 |
Exclaim
In trying to put a wall between herself and her audience, she's opened a new, far more revealing side to her music and herself
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6.0
97785
6.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Ultimately, Soft Sounds is an uneven experience, stylistically and in terms of (this listener’s) engagement
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6.0
97797
6.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
There are plenty of loveable moments, sure, but they tend to congeal like sand passing through your fingers
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6.0
97691
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Zauner is pulling from older songs that predate Japanese Breakfast, here, and with the past colouring much of the album’s mood, it’s fitting to hear her perform old thoughts with new vigour
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