Buckinghamshire-based singer-songwriter wooed an intimate Nottingham crowd following the release of her highly-anticipated debut record.
Having spent four years fine-tuning the intimate nature of her sound, Amber Bain, otherwise known as The Japanese House, finally realised her debut record Good At Falling on March 1 to a warm reception. With the help of The 1975’s George Daniel, Bain’s first full-length offering has grown exponentially in terms of maturity and confidence, if stylistically appearing as a flurry of contrasting and at times, confusing styles.
With Good At Falling released just last week, Bain arrived at Nottingham’s legendary Rough Trade store for the third leg of her four-date run of intimate instore acoustic shows, offering a mix of album cuts and early fan favourites.
“Her hauntingly vulnerable vocals appear even more raw when accompanied only by guitar”
Taking to the stage aside two backing guitarists, Bain opened the night with ‘Lilo’, perhaps the pinnacle moment on the debut record. Her hauntingly vulnerable vocals appear even more raw when accompanied only by guitar, whilst lyrically the track remains as emotional as ever, detailing her recent emotional and mental stability.
“Bain’s assuredness behind the mic remained resolute despite her artistic vulnerability.”
‘You Seemed so Happy’, ‘Somebody You Found’ and ‘Everybody Hates Me’ were played with such smoothness from the young singer-songwriter, whose development over the past few years has been astonishing given the hardships that she’s faced. Both tracks address living with variant states of anxiety, and despite a crowd member fainting during the beginning of the former, Bain’s assuredness behind the mic remained resolute despite her artistic vulnerability.
“Maybe You’re the Reason’ was projected with such a purity that it almost choked up the crowd”
Current fan favourite ‘Maybe You’re the Reason’ was projected with such a purity that it almost choked up the crowd, who silently admired Bain’s craft with almost a proud fondness over the artist that she’s developed into. Whilst the acoustic nature to the show meant that the track’s shuffling percussion groove wasn’t present, the spotlight was swiftly pushed towards Bain’s desperate vocals and glossing verses, which shone in the meantime.
“Bain managed to channel the loss of a friend with such intelligence and strength”
The jazz-infused ‘f a r a w a y’ was yet another melodically serene offering, once again showcasing Bain’s depth and patience as an emerging artist. Closing the night with the beautiful sway of ‘i saw you in a dream’, which in itself appeared on the debut record as an acoustic track, Bain managed to channel the loss of a friend with such intelligence and strength that it was hard not to imagine The Japanese House performing on greater platforms than the ones on her upcoming UK tour.
With the show being an acoustic performance, the difficulties surrounding the burgeoning complexity within her debut record dissipated behind the simplicity of three acoustic guitars and a singer, who with the purest of voices, channelled the pain and experience of her youth into a divine set of acoustic tracks.
9/10
Ben Standring
Featured Image courtesy of The Japanese House Official Facebook Page.
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