By: Julia Ristoska

Good at Falling is the debut album by The Japanese House which consist of the British singer-songwriter Amber Bain. The song “Maybe you’re the reason” is definitely the most pop sounding track for such a indie album. This song opens up with a catchy guitar riff and blooming echoes coming from the synths, in which reminds me of the Breakfast club theme song. Compared to The Japanese House’s usual moody indie sound this song is very pop. Lyrically the song is very emotional and personal focusing on topics such as depression and feeling insecure.When Bain was asked about the meaning of the song she said, “It’s about being depressed and realizing there’s no meaning in anything. Then in the chorus I thought, I can’t keep this up! I need to make it something nice. I thought about my girlfriend at the time, and how maybe loving someone is the reason you live? It’s the cheesiest chorus ever, but I think it needed it.”

The rest of the song Bain gets deep and personal describing how she she is finding meaning in a meaningless world. The production of the song does a good job at reflecting the meaning sonically. The production of this song is particularly clever where the synthesizers shape up the sound giving it a blend of 80’s influences and modernist feel. The opening guitar riff is bold and confident producing a wave of sound like a pebble dropped in the river. Eventually as the stone skips further the sound creates a faint echo, and some unexpected changes. Much like the song there is some distortion and chores changes almost as if the song is doubting itself. This track in particular is about feeling like there is no meaning in life, but the chorus flips this idea and suggest that loving someone is the reason why you live.

This song feels nostalgic even if the listeners hasn’t experienced this depressing yet loving relationship. We can connect and feel it through lyrics, sound and create meaning. Nothing is lost in translation.