The Japanese House - In The End it Always Does

The Japanese House’s discography is so full already it seems hard to believe that ‘In The End It Always Does’ is only the second album from Amber Bain. And with such a distinct artistic voice continuously present since 2015 EP ‘Pools To Bathe In’, some might wonder if she has room to branch out. Her standard sonic palette is definitively present, with ‘Touching Yourself’ offering those trademark floating vocals above a sad disco groove and dreamy synths, and ‘Indexical Reminder Of A Morning Well Spent’ featuring pretty acoustic guitars and ambient wisps. Perhaps half the album’s runtime is taken up by music that could belong on any other Japanese House release, but the more experimental nature of the other makes the album really worthwhile. ‘You Always Get What You Want’ is a Ben Howard-like collage of guitars living in a Katie Melua pop suite, while ‘One For Sorrow Two For Joni Jones’ is a meandering solo piano backing a vocal that pulls Joni Mitchell’s trick of never feeling authored, but rather as if newly spoken. This album brings innovation just when The Japanese House began to need it, and hopefully points to more creative exploration in the future.