Between last year’s excellent Jubilee and the upcoming adaptation of her novel Crying in H-Mart, Japanese Breakfast is entering a rarified sphere of creative cache. For her latest trick, a really wonderful spin on Bon Iver’s classic “Skinny Love” for Spotify Singles.
In Michelle Zauner’s hands, even this well-worn tune finds fresh life with an ever-so-slightly alt-country sheen, given some galloping drums and even a quiet horn section that patiently reveal themselves over time. It sounds less like it came from a quiet cabin in the woods than it does a studio in Austin, Texas. It has a little more muscle and structure, but doesn’t lose the aura of quiet heartbreak that originally birthed it.
You can listen to it and her acoustic take on Jubilee‘s “Be Sweet” on Spotify. Check our conversation with her about Crying in H-Mart here.
