The Japanese House Live @ Glasgow

Andrew Hollis

After a short hiatus from playing live, The Japanese House have returned with a tour promoting their new album ‘Good at Falling’, due for release in March 2019.

Significant parts of the album were recorded in Bon Iver’s cabin in Wisconsin, and it is evidently clear from the singles released that it has had at least some influence in the writing and feel of the songs with them appearing more stripped back and melancholic than previous recordings. Similar changes can be observed from the lyrics, they’re are more straightforward and brutally honest which matches the tone of the music.

At the recent gig in Glasgow, opening act ‘Art School Girlfriend’ was extremely well chosen as she took the slow, dark side of TJP’s music and expanded it in her own universe, creating a dark, haunting and tense opening that was perfect for this show.

Then Amber Bain took the stage with her bandmates and along with all the sensational hits, a few new songs from the upcoming album were also given the live treatment (for the first time). I have to say I enjoyed them in person quite a bit more than I did when listening to them at home. Even though the tracks from the new record are clearly more mature and have more of that sense of purpose in the songs, a trait artists tend to acquire after years of writing, they seemed somewhat bland when listening at home. Live however it was a whole different story, aided by the atmosphere of the audience, the vocal harmonies from other members of the band and the raw sound of the unedited instruments, ‘Lilo’ especially took on a life of its own and had a great impact on everyone present.

Credit must be given to the audience as they were probably the best I have ever seen at a show. When one thinks of larger crowds at a gig you would assume it to be rowdy, with people shoving each other and talking over the songs but the audience enhanced the experience rather than diminishing it, staying completely silent and still during quieter moments, creating an intimate atmosphere despite the amount of people there and belting out all the words to the larger than life songs to make them even more so.

The intimate and friendly atmosphere was enhanced by the on-stage banter from Bain herself as she admitted to having a few technical difficulties due to it being her first time on stage in a while, but she let the crowd help her out in a few songs which ultimately made the gig more memorable and enjoyable. The rest of the band also did a great job filling out the rest of the instruments and combining vocal harmonies that Bain would do herself on the record, giving it a different vibe from the recordings which was a welcome change.

With TJH’s latest recordings now, upon re-listening, possessing a different quality after such a stellar performance one can now only look forward to next year’s album and the tour that will follow with more anticipation and excitement than ever before!