the japanese house returns with 'chewing cotton wool'
By Mackenzie Wagner
On Aug. 13, Amber Bain of The Japanese House released her EP Chewing Cotton Wool. The EP follows the release of the single “Chewing Cotton Wool” in November, which was a follow up to “Something Has to Change,” released in September. Both songs are featured on the latest EP in addition to two new songs, “Sharing Beds” and “Dionne.” The four-song EP portrays the emotions of ending a relationship and entering into a new stage.
The EP starts with the soft piano intro of “Sharing Beds” and ends with a similar, soft vibe in “Chewing Cotton Wool,”, which provides a nice sense of closure to the EP as it seems to come full circle. “Sharing Beds” seems to be a relationship starting to fading out, and the EP flows through a seamless story, finishing with “Chewing Cotton Wool”, which represents the ending of a relationship. The EP contains four songs that could stand alone but together tell the story of a failing relationship in a beautiful way.
“Something Has to Change” was the first song released from the EP and was also Bain’s first release after releasing the debut album Good At Falling in 2019. The standout single portrays being stuck in an unfulfilling routine and the desire to break it. The lyrics “It’s the same girl who’s giving you hell / And it’s the same face / Your heart keeps breaking in the same place” suggest that this song is about falling into a routine of a bitter relationship. However, the opening lyrics “You caught the same train / And You took it back / To the same place” insinuate that the song is about a general dissatisfaction with a current phase of living, as it’s all “the same thing” every day.
“Dionne” features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and continues the story by conveying the emotion of not fully healing from a relationship yet. Bain writes, “your past becomes your present if it’s always on your mind” and references Dionne Warwick’s song, “Walk On By.” The reference serves to present the emotions of constantly reliving the grief of a past relationship. In the verse, Bain sings “We played Dionne Warwick, ‘Walk On By’ / And Freddy put his head between his legs and cried,” suggesting the effect of Warwick’s song.
Lastly, “Chewing Cotton Wool” wraps up the EP in a soft, heart-wrenching way. It depicts the feeling of when a relationship ends but still seeing the other person in the trivial parts of everyday life. Bain sings, “She’s dust upon the sill / She’s everywhere” and “She’s the whirlpool in the sink” to tell that she sees her past love in the most basic parts of the day, parts that most wouldn’t think twice about.
The Japanese House beautifully displays the emotions attached to falling out of stages of love and life. Bain doesn’t hold back as she tells her story in a way that is different than any other work. Chewing Cotton Wool lyrically and musically tells a story in an authentic and open way and is another successful release for the indie-pop act.