The lo-fi bedroom pop group Japanese Breakfast, fronted by Michelle Zauner, will release their second full-length album Soft Sounds From Another Planet next week via Dead Oceans. They have already shared two singles from the upcoming record, “Machinist” and “Boyish,” and today we get a haunting video for a third single “Road Head.”
The video features Zauner confidently yet longingly driving through the night alongside a strange cloaked skeleton creature that almost gives some Donnie Darko vibes. The track seems to be about trying to redeem a dead relationship, hence Zauner’s skeletal companion. By the end of the video, we see Zauner shoot the cloaked figure, burn his body in the woods, and walk off like a badass, smoking a cigarette with a blood-spattered face—talk about reclaiming her independence.
“’Road Head’ is the fifth music video Adam Kolodny and I have collaborated on,” said Zauner. “For this one we wanted to focus on staging and an exaggerated color palette. We were inspired by Fallen Angels and Twin Peaks.” If you’ve seen any episodes of the Twin Peaks revival yet, you can totally get the inspiration from the silhouettes, shadows, and mysticism present throughout the video.
After last year’s breakout with Psychopomp, Zauner’s ethereal project has garnered a lot of praise both critically and amongst fans of lo-fi, synthy, dream pop. Japanese Breakfast toured last year with Mitski and the rest of 2017 for them includes a current tour with (Sandy) Alex G and Cende, a few shows with indie rock queens Tegan & Sara, and a headlining tour this fall with female-fronted punk greats Mannequin Pussy. Zauner’s infectious voice and strategically written pop tracks will undoubtedly carry her and her new album into success this year.
Soft Sounds From Another Planet is out July 14 via Dead Oceans. Preorder it here.
