Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner likes to describe her festival shows as dating, where she shows off the best, brightest side of herself. Headline shows are more like long-term relationships; more time with the audience means she can reveal more parts of her personality. At Roundhouse tonight she’s practically ready to move in together.
Which isn’t to say that her festival shows are one-dimensional — she’s mastered the art of burying personal trauma inside even her bounciest melodies. But over the space of 75 minutes, Zauner digs so deep into her catalogue that we even get three minutes of ethereal beauty from her soundtrack to the video game Sable. And she opens the encore with a song so new it’s never been played in public before.
Nils van der Linden 