Yesterday, The Japanese House came to the Foundry at the Fillmore for a sold-out show on the final leg of a meandering American tour. The moniker belongs to Amber Bain, a 21-year-old London-based vocalist and producer signed to Dirty Hit (Wolf Alice, Marika Hackman).
Her androgynous vocals operate in a genre that’s not quite minimal electronica, not quite dream pop, but straddles the line somewhere in between. There isn’t yet an LP, but Bain’s relatively small discography worked in her favor; the front row reliably sang along to every song, and I even saw some of the over-21s in the back by the bar, surreptitiously mouthing along to Cool Blue – still swept up and drawn in with the rest of us.
If you’re not listening yet, Zane Lowe, The Guardian, DIY, and i-D have already caught on; she wraps up the tour this summer in the United Kingdom, and returns stateside for Lollapalooza in August.
