“I had tried to be a musician for years,” Michelle Zauner once told us. “I thought if it hadn’t happened by then, it wasn’t going to.”
That doubt feels like a distant memory now. As the creative force behind Japanese Breakfast, Zauner has spent years translating grief, longing and joy into lush cinematic indie pop. But on For Melancholy Brunettes (And Sad Women), her highly anticipated fourth album dropping tomorrow, Zauner takes a more introspective approach, leaning into an emotional depth that feels both intimate and expansive.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty in sadness,” Zauner said. “There’s something really romantic about embracing melancholy instead of fighting against it.” The album’s title, inspired by a John Cheever short story, reflects that ethos. It’s a collection of songs that revel in longing, nostalgia and the kind of exquisite sadness that lingers in the air like a film’s final frame.
If Jubilee was about throwing open the windows and letting the sunlight in, For Melancholy Brunettes is about drawing the curtains and sitting with your thoughts. Musically, the album builds on the dreamlike textures that have defined Japanese Breakfast’s sound while introducing orchestral arrangements and intricate guitar work that feel warmer and richer. Songs like “Little Girl” showcase Zauner’s airy vocals over delicate acoustic strumming while “Honey Water” surges with distortion and raw emotion. And then there’s “Men in Bars,” which features a surprising guest: Jeff Bridges.
“Getting Jeff Bridges on the album was one of those surreal moments that just felt right,” Zauner said. “His voice has this warmth and weight to it that really grounds the song. It’s like having a wise old cowboy guide you through a heartache.”
The album also marks a return to themes that have long shaped Zauner’s work—memory, identity and the passage of time. Since her debut Psychopomp, she has woven her Korean-American heritage and the loss of her mother into her music and writing, most notably in her bestselling memoir Crying in H Mart. But this time, the storytelling feels even more refined, less about recounting grief and more about what lingers after it.
“I think I spent so much time trying to document my memories that I hadn’t really stopped to consider how they change over time,” Zauner said. “This album is me sitting with those changes, seeing how certain moments have softened, how others still ache in the same way.”
That kind of emotional evolution mirrors Zauner’s artistic journey. She started Japanese Breakfast in the wake of loss, recording Psychopomp while working a corporate job, convinced music wasn’t a viable career path. Then everything changed. Her early albums gained a devoted following and her memoir became a phenomenon. She went from sleeping on floors during tours to headlining major festivals. But through it all, she has remained a storyteller first, whether through music, literature or even film—her Crying in H Mart adaptation is currently in development.
With For Melancholy Brunettes, Zauner is once again proving that sadness doesn’t have to be something to escape. Sometimes, it’s something to sit with, something to shape into art. “I wanted to make an album for the sad girls,” she said. “I wanted to make something beautiful out of longing. I think that’s what I’ve always been trying to do.”
