On The Japanese House’s latest release, Apple Music called them an electrifying discovery for 2015. Well, they clearly missed out on their earlier EP this year: Pools to Bathe In. It’s one of the best EPs I’ve heard all year.
Apple summarizes their style as electronic folk, but I think that betrays it a little bit. These four songs are beautiful and calming displays of electronic ambient music. It’s like the folks behind Fleet Foxes decided to sing choral arrangements overtop of electronic music: it’s layered, gorgeous synth.
What makes The Japanese House so compelling is that, beneath all the layering and autotune work, there’s a clear soul. This isn’t a quality unique to The Japanese House — it’s been a visible trend in electronic music for a couple years — but The Japanese House excels at pairing it with a sense of minimalism that really puts a focus on the vocal arrangements. So while the music is clearly electronic, it sounds incredibly human and organic.
I think these guys have a good thing going and I can’t wait to hear more.