The Japanese House’s Great Return
Written by Tallulah Totten
Photo by Tallulah Totten
Singer and producer Amber Bain is no stranger to putting on an amazing show–which is exactly what she did on November 18th at the Glass House. Coming off a four year hiatus from her last album Good at Falling–released in 2019, Bain’s 2023 release In The End It Always Does came highly anticipated. And to no one’s surprise, it did not disappoint.
Toying with themes of heartbreak and lost love, emotional reflections on childhood trauma and identity, the album finds The Japanese House embracing her pop-side while still keeping her signature nostalgic feel.
Opener Quinnie took the stage first to perform her achingly honest and charming anthems accompanied by friends Jake Weinberg and Hudson Pollock (who both took part in producing and playing on her album). They performed an acoustic set consisting of adored singles such as “man” and “touch tank” amongst other unreleased songs–all as lovely and gut wrenching as their setlist companions. Quinnie finished out her set with song “Gold Star,” a nod to her earlier 2019 EP by the same name Gold Star.
Photo by Tallulah Totten
Not much later did Bain and her bandmates take the stage to perform to their sold out crowd. The stage, decorated with a white backdrop and colorful lighting, provided an environment for fans to focus on her and the music at hand. Opening her set with song “Sad to Breathe,” the crowd recited every word, as the energy gradually built throughout the duration of the song. Going straight into the cheeky, upbeat tune “Touching Yourself,” Bain exchanged grinning looks with members of the crowd.
Maintaining the upbeat energy, Bain played through several songs before landing on more heart-rending songs “Chewing Cotton Wool” and “One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones”—a song named after her beloved dog. The crowd remained silent with all attention drawn to Bain as she sat down at the keyboard and played through the beautiful ballad written about the looming complications of changes within a relationship.
Bain had the crowd back on their feet with hit-single “Sunshine Baby” as the last song of the evening. The song features 1975 frontman Matty Healy and has been a fan favorite ever since it was teased. The night came to a close as fans screamed along to the whole song–most notably to the second verse stating “in the end it always does”.
Listen to In The End It Always Does here