Soft Sounds from Another Planet is the second album by American Alternative Pop band Japanese Breakfast.
Tracklist
- "Diving Woman"
- "Road Head"
- "Machinist"
- "Planetary Ambiance"
- "Soft Sounds from Another Planet"
- "Boyish"
- "12 Steps"
- "Jimmy Fallon Big"
- "Your Body is a Blade"
- "Till Death"
- "This House"
- "Here Comes the Tubular Bells"
This house is full of tropes:
- Album Title Drop: On the Title Track.
- Alternative Dance: "Machinist" is the only track on the album which fits this genre.
- Autotune: Featured on "Machinist" and "Jimmy Fallon Big".
- Baroque Pop: "Boyish" stands out from the rest of the album with its distinctive harpischord and its Sound of Wall-like production.
- Break Up Song: "12 Steps".
- Celebrity Song: "Jimmy Fallon Big" (she ended up playing live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon but she hasn't played the song)
- Concept Album: In her own words, a "failed concept album" originally stemming from her desire to make a more narrative-driven album. Nevertheless, the album still uses sci-fi themes to convey Michelle's sense of isolation and shutting off her emotions, akin to a machine or floating around in space.
- Dream Pop
- Face on the Cover
- Genre Roulette: The disco-influenced "Machinist" and the Baroque Pop tune "Boyish" stand out compared to the rest of the album which sounds closer to Dream Pop and Shoegazing.
- Instrumentals: "Planetary Ambiance" and "Here Comes the Tubular Bells".
- Location Song: "12 Steps" refers to a bar called "12 Steps Down", located in South Philadelphia.
- Music Videos: For "Road Head", "Machinist", "Boyish" and "Body is a Blade". Michelle Zauner directed them.
- One-Woman Song: "Diving Woman".
- One-Word Title: "Machinist" and "Boyish".
- Rearrange the Song
- "Road Head" originally appeared in a more minimalistic form on an EP called "American Music".
- "Boyish" initially appeared on a previous album of Japanese Breakfast called June. Later on, it got revamped with a punk twist by the band Little Big League before finally reappearing on this album as a Baroque Pop ballad.
- Robosexual: Michelle has stated, regarding "Machinist", that it is about a woman being in love with a robot.
- Shoegazing
- Shout-Out: "Boyish" starts off with a drumming beat similar to The Ronettes' "Be my Baby" (this is complemented by the fact that "Boyish" incorporates Baroque Pop elements).
- The music video for Machinist was inspired by Serial Experiments Lain, Blade Runner, The Matrix, The Fifth Element and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
- The music video for Road Head was inspired by Pan's Labyrinth, Twin Peaks and Stranger Things.
- Siamese Twin Songs
- "Road Head" subtly transitions into "Machinist".
- "This House" transitions into "Here Comes the Tubular Bells".
- Spoken Word in Music: On the intro and the bridge of "Machinist".
- Title Track
- Vocal Dissonance: Michelle samples her own voice through different pitches on "Road Head".
