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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Dork
This is an album that glistens and sparkles at every moment. Zauner is revelling in her musical step up as she employs synths, strings, saxophones, pianos, guitars and anything she can lay her hands on to take her evocative and richly detailed songwriting to a new level.
100
DIY
‘Jubilee’ finds its creator older and wiser with melody, lyrics and storytelling pulling focus in a fashion that cements Michelle Zauner as a true creative force to be reckoned with. From here on out, Japanese Breakfast can go anywhere and we’ll follow.
90
FLOOD Magazine
It’s the sort of statement so well-chiseled and superior to its predecessors that it scans as a breakthrough, even though this is a band well past the breakthrough stage.
90
The Line of Best Fit
If nothing else, one thing’s for certain: Zauner is absolutely in her element here and it goes without question that while this is undeniably her year, she’s also just rebranded herself as one of today’s top-tier indie visionaries.
90
Exclaim!

Jubilee isn't about pushing the pain away; rather, it's a validation of whatever it is you feel. Zauner wants you to know with this record that you have the capacity to find joy in whatever mess life throws your way.

90
Clash
It’s fun and fearless and with enough depth to have the songs stick to your ribs. It’s intelligent pop done right.
90
Northern Transmissions

Jubilee is a masterclass in songwriting and production. Each aspect embraces the other and compliments it perfectly. Triumphantly rejoicing in the biggest and most mundane of emotions, Japanese Breakfast has crafted a record that fulfills and abandons just moments apart from each other.

90
God Is in the TV

Jubilee is a stunning and bold step-up that firmly cements Michelle as one of music’s most gifted songwriters, composers and performers. Be sweet to this one, we need more like her.

90
musicOMH

This album certainly is a rush, and it’s also the best Japanese Breakfast album to date.

90
AllMusic

Thankfully, just as with Crying in H Mart, Jubilee is an album that showcases Zauner's talents to their fullest and makes crushing on Japanese Breakfast hard to resist.

90
Loud and Quiet

Unapologetically big and dazzlingly bright, Jubilee is an invigorating depiction of Zauner’s journey to finding true happiness in a testing and unforgiving world.

86
Spectrum Culture

If nothing else, Jubilee is confirmation that Michelle Zauner is a great artist regardless of the context.

85
Under The Radar

Jubilee’s 10 songs arrive fully baked, frosted with bigger beats and softer swirls, all stacked carefully on top of each other.

81
Beats Per Minute

Maybe that’s what makes Jubilee so special: only Zauner could have fashioned these songs both as tenderly bright and violently sad as they’ve become. Not one colour: an entire spectrum of female experience, struggle and fulfilment.

80
Gigwise

Jubilee is an alternative pop record that pulls you into the world of Japanese Breakfast, poses larger than life questions, and leaves you evaluating not just the record, but also yourself.

80
Rolling Stone

Japanese Breakfast’s latest LP Jubilee is the project’s most ecstatic-sounding album to date, although one glance at the lyrics will tell you that Zauner isn’t done excavating the thornier aspects of dependency, devotion, and longing.

80
Sputnikmusic
Jubilee feels heartfelt, no matter the production values and the intended catchiness.The early June release date was a wise decision, as this is a colorful summer album to the core.
80
The Forty-Five
Switching muddy shoegaze for bright pop, Michelle Zauner's third album as Japanese Breakfast is a record that could only be made by somebody who has felt pain, and is brave enough to try and defy it.
80
Slant Magazine
The album conceives of the exuberant possibilities of life and love while teasing out their more bracing realities.
80
Crack Magazine

With Jubilee, Zauner honours her past and pushes forward, urging us all to do the same

80
NME

Michelle Zauner’s third album under her shoegaze-inspired moniker is a brilliantly forward-thinking stab at creating pure joy.

80
The Skinny
It’s a jubilant and sweet experience. The least conceptually bound Zauner has been, she moves confidently through a space befitting of the multi-hyphenate artist she has become.
78
Pitchfork
Michelle Zauner embraces the spotlight and goes for the brass ring on her third album, a stylish and eclectic record that feels of the moment and also steeped in classic indie sensibilities.
70
No Ripcord

While much has been made of Jubilee being an album about joy—and in some ways, it is—the majority of the third Japanese Breakfast album captures a full breadth of emotions.

70
Uncut
These are smart, confident, and mostly fine-boned songs.
70
The Needle Drop
The additional instrumentation doesn't always do Jubilee favors, but rarely distracts from Michelle's strengths as a lyricist and performer.
Doublez
83

Jubilee captures the essence of delightful Chamber Pop and heartfelt Indie Pop and makes it graceful. Zauner is a master at bringing emotions to life or making them speak when they seem deeply buried, volatile in contrast.

Sometimes the choices we make explain a lot. Take for example the one I made today, which is to write about Japanese Breakfast, when Wolf Alice is releasing a new and highly anticipated album. Not because Jubilee is inherently better, because I don't know yet, but I'm ... read more

TomBejoy
80

This dish might not be to everyone's (westernized) taste on a hungover morning, and it's also a breakfast with many components—rice, grilled fish, miso soup, pickles, and a Japanese-style omelette—and some relatively obscure ingredients. Having said that, this is as clean, wholesome, and nutritious as breakfast gets, so if anything is going to make you feel better it may well be this. However, I advise you to steer clear of tofu with a hangover (vegetarians: you may shoot me now); ... read more

marvelgaryen
91

What is the name of this yellow fruit?

lucasapicard
78

1. Paprika [9/10]
2. Be Sweet [9/10]
3. Kokomo, IN [9/10]
4. Slide Tackle [8/10]
5. Posing In Bondage [7/10]
6. Sit [6/10]
7. Savage Good Boy [8/10]
8. In Hell [8/10]
9. Tactics [7/10]
10. Posing for Cars [7/10]

TOTAL: 78 / 10 = 7.80

AidenBowe45
85

This is a delightful surprise that's as cute and fun as it is surprisingly great. These 10 fully baked songs are frosted with bigger beats and softer swirls, creating an irresistible sonic sweetness that's both catchy and dreamy. While I was fashionably late to the album, I can't help but appreciate its unique charm and the fact that it hasn't quite hit the mainstream yet. It's a precious little secret, a magnificent album that certainly deserves all the acclaim.

82

very solid record, a smooth melting pot of enjoyable, gleeful, and energetic pop music. A great warm weather album that holds a lot of value while relaxing on a hammock.

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Track List

1Paprika
3:40
91
2Be Sweet
3:15
91
3Kokomo, IN
3:38
88
4Slide Tackle
3:39
85
5Posing In Bondage
4:04
86
6Sit
3:07
80
7Savage Good Boy
2:26
82
8In Hell
2:38
82
9Tactics
3:53
85
10Posing For Cars
6:38
89
Total Length: 37 minutes

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Added on: March 2, 2021