Amber Bain’ debut launches into her most personal collection of work ever. Starting as a support to The 1975 and now a fully fledged artist in her own right she commands a 13-track emotional endeavour of personal, bleak, dark and vulnerable into almost a serial of volumes the feature caressing pop and electronic heaviness acting as the foundation for those subtle blips of emotional sparks in lyrical form. Amber doesn’t fray too much from her unique signature sound and attempting to sound like her contemporaries, her sampling method seems to have been coached from George Daniel of The 1975, while maintaining that distinct arrangement The Japanese House has always fortified. She has always retained her narrative confidence even when some of her earlier work didn’t always match the crescendo effect of say ‘Face Like Thunder.’ However, the time away has garnished her art; it’s pulsating, transitional, bursting and introverted in so many ways. The hooks and emotional anchors are all there, you just need to begin the search and you shall be rewarded. Of course Bain isn’t without seriousness and social commentary - carefully woven into tracks like ‘Maybe You’re The Reason’ and ‘We Talk All The Time’. Bain is also demonstrating what she will do in the future to her sound. The album is almost a love letter to the past, but with almost a Risk/Opportunity analysis; these are the lessons learnt and here is what I need to do to more forward - and she does all this with a confidence unheard from her earlier work. The Japanese House are present, profound, and preparing for the long ride.
