“Live At Electric Lady” Review: Closer to Japanese Breakfast

A partnership between Spotify and Electric Lady Studios announced on July 13, 2021 has overseen the release of several EPs under the title “Live At Electric Lady.” These EPs are recordings of special live covers performed in New York’s legendary Electric Lady Studios—performances by the likes of Patti Smith, Jon Batiste, and Faye Webster. The latest EP is that of rising indie-rock star Japanese Breakfast, known offstage as Michelle Zauner. The release of Japanese Breakfast’s “Live At Electric Lady” EP is ushered in by the hype of her acclaimed album “Jubilee” and her New York Times-best-selling memoir “Crying in H Mart,” both of which came out earlier in 2021.

Zauner flourishes within the confines of Electric Lady Studios, utilizing the intimate setting and the talents of the exceptional resident sound engineers. In the live EP, the singularity of her voice reveals itself as it shines through lyrics about the cracks in different kinds of love.

The opening track, “Tactics - Recorded At Electric Lady Studios,” establishes wavering feelings that Zauner follows in many directions throughout the EP. Much like the original from “Jubilee,” the song begins with swelling violins. But these strings are different: louder, more convincing, and carried over in full thanks to the album’s sublime, hi-fi production. The same is true of Zauner’s own voice.

In the song, Zauner adapts experiences with her father into a broader storyline about toxic relationships. She aches to remember beautiful moments of a past love, perhaps just to assure herself that the love existed: “Tried, tried to recall, memories of peaches, the sun on my neck.” In following verses, she notes attempts at filling the space left behind, “without much discretion of who.” She holds that she must stay away from this person and not be persuaded by recitations of a fictional past. The one word in “Tactics” provides a silhouette of Zauner’s pain, which is then severely shaded by her haunting voice.

Three of the eight tracks on the EP were not originally released by Japanese Breakfast. “Lindsey,” off the breakout album of Zauner’s former band, Little Big League, is the first of them. Though not a standout track, “Lindsey - Recorded At Electric Lady Studios'' serves two purposes on the record. Firstly, it pays homage to her musical roots, and secondly, it plays on a theme common in her work, both on and off the EP: the way in which traditions of heteronoramtive, monogamous relationships are equated to love. In “Lindsey,” Zauner personifies someone who can only show their love through promises of provision and offspring; “I could win your bread if you let me,” and “I will have you longing for heirs.”

Nowhere on the album is this theme clearer than in “Savage Good Boy - Recorded At Electric Lady Studios,” a stripped-down version of a hit track off “Jubilee.” In it, Zauner’s lyrics are left to shine as she embodies an investment-banker type who believes, “That all my bad behavior was just a necessary strain.” Accompanied by a singular acoustic guitar, the absurd monologue of a man who wants only to make money and rear children feels earnest in a way that it couldn’t in the original.

The second non-Japanese Breakfast track on the EP, “Ballad 0 - Recorded At Electric Lady Studios,” is part of Zauner’s side project, “BUMPER.” It's a little-known song now given a new life. Zauner successfully trades out lo-fi vocal effects for elevated production to shed light on a hidden gem of songwriting; It’s less stylized, but more memorable — a heart-achey retelling of the difficulties of leaving a relationship you know you’ve outgrown.

The final song on the album is “Say It Ain’t So - Recorded At Electric Lady Studios,” a cover of Weezer's infamous hit. I don’t want to spoil it, but it does indeed fill its boots as a refreshed, vibrant rendition of a legendary track — a strong end to a tender album that will earn your attention and eventually, your heart.