Soft Sounds from Another Planet

Soft Sounds from Another Planet is the second studio album by American indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. The album was released by Dead Oceans on July 14, 2017.
Primarily described as an indie rock and shoegaze album, Soft Sounds from Another Planet also incorporates elements of electronic dance music, synth-pop, space pop, electropop, lo-fi, progressive rock, experimental pop and chamber pop. It primarily deals with themes of loss, science fiction and perseverance.
The album received critical acclaim from critics who commended it for its eclectic and experimental production and exploration of grief and love although some believed it to be uneven. The album became Japanese Breakfast's first to chart, reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Heatseekers and Independent charts in the US and the New Zealand Heatseekers Albums chart.
In 2014, Michelle Zauner left the Philadelphia-based emo band Little Big League to care for her terminally ill mother in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon. Songs she wrote to cope with her grief about her mother's death became part of Psychopomp (2016), Japanese Breakfast's debut studio album. Psychopomp received unexpected critical and commercial success, rejuvenating Zauner's efforts to make music a career and leading her to sign with Dead Oceans. However, she found herself "reliving traumatic memories" when giving interviews about the album. Zauner said she began writing Soft Sounds from Another Planet to help leave her trauma behind.
Zauner envisioned it as a concept album, a "sci-fi musical" that would tackle different themes than its predecessor. The first song she wrote for the new album was "Machinist." She found that she disliked the songs she was creating at the time. Zauner also hoped to create a "hi fi" album in contrast to Psychopomp's lo-fi palette that also maintained its predecessor's experimental and playful nature. She attributed the latter to having recently signed to Dead Oceans and consequently feeling pressured due to the budget and deadlines the label assigned her. To produce the album, Zauner contacted Craig Hendrix and the two recorded the album over a month long period in their Philadelphia studio.
On May 4, 2017, Japanese Breakfast released the album's lead single, "Machinist" to positive critical reviews. It debuted alongside a music video depicting a woman who dismantles her spaceship when she tries to build a body for her robot lover. The video was directed by Zauner and Adam Kolodny. A second single, "Boyish", was released on June 7, 2017, followed by its own video on February 13, 2018, which Zauner later described as her "magnum opus". A third and final single, "Road Head", was released on July 6, 2017, alongside another music video directed by Zauner, who drew inspiration from Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai's film Fallen Angels and television series Twin Peaks.
To promote the album, Japanese Breakfast released a video game, "Japanese BreakQuest". Players guide "J-Brekkie", a character named for the band's Twitter handle, to gather a band and fight an alien invasion. It was developed by Zauner and video game developer Elaine Fath and features songs from the album as 8-bit MIDI tracks by Peter Bradley.
Japanese Breakfast toured in support of the album from July 15, 2017, until November 24, 2019. Supporting acts during the tour included American singers Yohuna, Jay Som, and Half Waif; and American bands Mannequin Pussy, The Spirit of the Beehive, LVL UP, Radiator Hospital, Mothers, and Ought.
Soft Sounds from Another Planet received widespread acclaim from music critics who praised its experimental production, eclectic range of genres and subject matter of grief and love. It received a weighted score of 83 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 20 reviews from music critics.
Reviewers lauded Zauner's vocals and the album's expanded sonic palette in comparison to Psychopomp. Nathan Reese of Pitchfork deemed the album's lead single, "Machinist" the band's "biggest leap forward in terms of sound" and favorably compared Zauner's vocals to shoegaze band Slowdive. No Ripcord's Juan Edgardo Rodriguez also complimented the eclectic range of genres on the album and opined Zauner to be "at her best when she builds upon her aching vocal delivery". Tim Sendra of AllMusic considered the album an improvement over Psychopomp and praised the songs', "spacious, expansive sound that envelops the listener in warmth (even when the synths get a little chilly.)"
Under the Radar's Stephen Mayne praised the album's nuanced perspective on romance and suggested that audiences "looking for something more beautiful need look no farther than what Zauner is already offering." The Quietus' Veronica Irwin praised the album for retaining the "heartfelt intensity" of its predecessor and Japanese Breakfast's relatable lyrics while expressing surprise at the record's sonic experimentation.
Some reviewers meanwhile criticized the album's perceived unevenness. Brian Shultz of The A.V. Club said, "And while everything on Japanese Breakfast's proper sophomore effort isn't entirely fresh, and its structure is somewhat loose, there's a confidence and crispness to Soft Sounds that shows just how fully realized Zauner's formerly homemade experiments have become." Exclaim!'s Ian Gormely noted the album's lack of focus but wrote, "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."
Adapted from AllMusic.