In The End It Always Does
The Japanese House / In The End It Always Does / 2023 / DH01659
While LIES took the title of album of the year for me in 2023, there were MANY releases that totally deserve the honorable mention at the very least. The Japanese House’s summer release of In The End It Always Does is one of them. Amber Bain’s gleaming songwriting strikes in a way that is hard to ignore and keeps you coming back for another playthrough. Featuring some subtle but brilliant guest appearances from Katie Gavin (MUNA), Matthew Healy (The 1975), and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) In The End It Always Does is a truly remarkable pop record that really culminates the best of Bain’s talents.
Amber Bain is an English indie pop musician from Buckinghamshire that is known professionally as The Japanese House. My first discovery of The Japanese House was back in the winter of 2020 while wrapping Christmas gifts on my apartment floor. I threw Spotify up on the TV and clicked on the recommended Chewing Cotton Wool EP and became enamored with all four tracks - the voice, the keyboards, the dancy drum beats - all of it pulled me in. In the three years following I’d come back to this EP often, but always looking for some more. In March of 2023, Amber dropped Boyhood - an incredibly simple but breathtakingly beautiful single with palm muted acoustic guitar, steady kick drum, and a soaring, contemplative lyrical tale that does not get old. It quickly became my go-to song to throw on my phone while I was showering - the closing lyrics just hit - “I wanna change but it’s nothing new. And if I grow, I’m gonna get so old. Will you hold me like you always do?”. A few more singles dropped before the full release of In The End It Always Does a couple days after my birthday. Intro track Spot Dog has some really cool layered instrumentation of piano, Nashville tuned guitar, vocals, and background droning that eventually gives way to reverse delay on most of it with some 808’s dropping in - something I did not expect on first listen. Upbeat tracks Touching Yourself, Sad to Breathe, and Sunshine Baby really put a smile on my face and always make me want to get up and move. Healy’s vocal harmonies and accompaniments on Sunshine Baby coincide so well with Amber’s voice that break away to some inspired saxophone on the way out. Amber allows these big pop tracks to breathe by sprinkling in slower tunes like Morning Pages. Bain stated it’s a song centered around the concept of writing in a journal once a day to open up your brain, and then you’re supposed to throw it away and not read it afterwards. She tried it once and the lyrics were formed from that. Featuring Katie Gavin singing her own verse and then rejoining Amber on the chorus outro, I’d say their voices blend seamlessly perfect together.
In The End It Always Does was produced by Amber Bain, George Daniel, Chole Kramer, and Matthew Healy. The pressing I own is 1/750 from Urban Outfitters on Pastel Pink. Special thanks to the in-laws for this one for Christmas. I highly recommend watching the below live video session of a few tracks from the album.
The Japanese House - In the End it Always Does (Official Live Film)
