SEE and DO: Japanese Breakfast plays the Masquerade Sun., Sept. 10
Michelle Zauner explores a larger world of lo-fi pop with ‘Soft Sounds from Another Planet’
In 2016, singer and guitarist Michelle Zauner of the Philadelphia-based emo rock outfit Little Big League returned to hometown of Eugene, Oregon, where she began to explore the broader depths of lo-fi pop with her solo project, Japanese Breakfast. Her debut album Psychopomp (Yellow K), named after the Greek word meaning “guide of souls,” laments Zauner’s late mother with shimmering instrumentation and dark lyrics. This year’s second album, Soft Sounds from Another Planet (Dead Oceans), serves as a cosmic escape, propelling listeners through a moody and abstract constellation of shoegaze textures. And while Soft Sounds ... features a glossy remake of Little Big League’s noisy 2014 number “Boyish,” Zauner has successfully distanced herself from her previous thrashing project by embracing a balance fragile intimacy and pure pop sheen.
With Mannequin Pussy and the Spirit of the Beehive. $12. 7 p.m. (doors) Sun., Sept. 10. Masquerade. 75 MLK Jr Drive SW. www.masq.com. 404-577-8178.