The Japanese House: Tiny Desk Concert

Stephen Thompson, January 18, 2024 The Japanese House, the recording project of U. K. singersongwriter Amber Bain, put out my favorite album of 2023: In the End It Always Does is an irresistible electropop record full of warmly relatable songs about desire, regret and the fear that no one will ever love you as much as the dog nestled in your lap. It s a wonderful record that s buoyed by impeccably chosen guests MUNA s Katie Gavin, Bon Iver s Justin Vernon, two members of The 1975 and a pervasive mood of lowkey dreaminess. At the Tiny Desk, Bain recasts four of In the End It Always Does songs in fresh arrangements that swap out the synths while highlighting the more organic sounds of brushed drums, a violin, a spare piano and the occasional baritone sax. And, though she closes with the album s effervescent lead single Boyhood, Bain also uses her set to center the album s softer material particularly the lush gem Baby Goes Again, whi