The Japanese House - 'Boyhood'
The Japanese House is back with sensitive new single Boyhood.
Indie-pop artist Amber Bain AKA The Japanese House is back with a shimmering new single, and her first new music in three years.
Bain’s career got off to a strong start when she was introduced to Matty Healy of The 1975, who was impressed by her, and him along with fellow 75 drummer George Daniel started producing with her. Her debut single Still was a huge success and premiered on BBC Radio One, presented by Zane Lowe.
She released four EPs from 2015 to 2017, and her debut full length album Good at Falling arrived in 2019 to wide acclaim.
Boyhood opens with gentle electric drumbeats and Bain’s soft, striking vocals. A plucky, slightly muted guitar can be heard, pairing with her voice perfectly.
“I go out and try to chase myself/Find someone that might restore me” she sings candidly. The song touches on themes of escapism and love. Speaking about the meaning behind it, Bain said: “I was thinking a lot about being gay and gender obsessed. And I was thinking a lot about how I don’t really feel like a woman or a girl, and so it’s strange because I grew up as a girl and I didn’t have a boyhood. I was sort of thinking about that and how different I might be if I’d had some sort of boyhood, or I’ve had some different things happen to me in my life. The song itself had a hundred different versions and I feel like I’ve had a hundred different versions of myself, and the song is about accepting some of those.”
The song’s accompanying visualiser sees Bain watching herself from a bed, on horseback with someone else, riding through fields. The track itself certainly has a very melodic and rhythmic feel to it, much like the galloping hoofbeats of a horse.
There is a short, glorious instrumental, acting as a bridge, before the final chorus comes in and most of the production falls away, Bain sounding more open and honest than ever.“Will you hold me like you always do?” she ends the song on a question.
Words by Lucy Skeet
