The Japanese House LIVE: I Saw [Them] in a Dream

Written and Edited by Eve Moat

Albert Hall, Manchester. 10.05.24. A warm spring evening. A crowd. A band. 2 supports. And now you. It was like I Saw [Them] in a Dream.

Amber Bain’s musical alias The Japanese House played to a sell-out show at the majestic Albert Hall: one of my favourite venues and beautiful to see in the daylight. Usually as I head to the Albert Hall under the cover of dark, the venue usually looks very different, but this time, due to the clock’s just being turned back, sunlight streamed through the colourful floor-to-ceiling windows that still remain from the days when the building was a church. The stained glass windows really create a unique space and every one of the performers that evening commented on being able to see the audience due to the natural light – and how much they loved being able to see everyone’s faces (despite it being somewhat more daunting and scary).

Starting the evening was sibling duo Esme Emerson. Made up of (yep, you guessed it) sister, Esme, and brother, Emerson, they started the night off on a certain vibe: acoustic, mellow and beautifully artistic. Playing originals and covers, with one song sounding awfully like Miss Phoebe Bridgers to the entire crowd’s delight, they set a high bar for fellow up-and-comer Bonnie Kemplay.

A friend of another artist I have interviewed called May Payne, Bonnie Kemplay played into the hearts of the onlooker, tuning her guitar between songs and thanking the audience after every track. A musician with a cutesy style with an edge, you couldn’t not fall in love with her persona and her vocals. Also a female electric guitarist? What’s not to love!

We can’t go without mentioning the audience. Friends and strangers alike getting along like they have everything in common. Colours, style and personalities flooded the general admission where I was lucky to be. The creativity of the musicians reflected, portrayed and adapted by the crowd was incredible to see and I felt comfortable and free. Bonnie Kemplay summed up the audience perfectly (because no one is ever this nice for no reason right?): “my mum came to the London show last night […] ‘your crowd has a certain vibe’ […] ‘yeah mum, they’re all gay'”.

As if by that, it was time for the headliner: The Japanese House. Indie-pop, 80s vibe denim and fluctuating tempos mixed with warm vocals, it could only be them. Starting the set with ‘Touching Yourself’ probably says more than you need to know about their musical discography – and by that I mean it talks about often raw topics and difficult emotions such as in this case dealing with distance and lack of physical touch.

Track 3 brought one of my favourite slightly more up-beat tracks, ‘Something has to Change’, and after seeing this performed live at Finsbury Park last year, I thought it couldn’t get any better than that. Oh but it did. Comparing the two shows is really like comparing apples and oranges, with a festival set-up for one and a more intermate setting for the other, but one thing they both have in common is how much they made my heart melt and fall in love all over again with indie music, the gig community and of course, The Japanese House.

Every song was incredible, with the next seamlessly linking from the last. The halfway point of the core setlist saw ‘You Seemed So Happy’, which may be one of my favourite drum-vocal combinations, with the rise and fall of Bain’s vocals getting the whole crowd to join in and the beats making each person dance. This continued due to the electronic influences and reverb on tracks including ‘Friends’ (which is so catchy you can’t not move to it) and ‘Chewing Cotton Wool’ (an emotionally-charged song but which works so well with this genre influence).

‘Saw you in a Dream’ of course was a certified banger – nothing much else needs to be said, it is incredible. With the core setlist ending strong with ‘Dionne’ and ‘Boyhood’ – with the latter making everyone happy-cry and in love, with Bain asking “do we have any queers out there?” and the venue consequently erupting with screams in agreement. “I could’ve been somebody else” hitting everyone right in the centre of their chests, showing how this music isn’t just musically wonderful, but that it means something.

An exquisitely constructed encore followed, with the crowd being warmed up whilst standing ‘Still’ for a new unreleased track. “This is probably my favourite song that I’ve ever written” – Bain (2024). The track is very happy go lucky in its melodies – which is apt for a song titled ‘Smiley Face’ and once again, the crowd were bopping along despite not knowing the words. I can’t wait for this track to be officially released and I feel so privileged to have been at one of the first ever shows where it was played live.

The track that is my ‘Sunshine Baby’ drew the show to a close and I couldn’t have been happier. An immense evening where I loved every second of it. I am a strong believer in live music being the best way to listen to an artist as its the way they were intended to be heard originally, and as amazing as The Japanese House are in the studio, nothing can beat a live set.

I look forward to the next time I can see The Japanese Live and bring on the ‘Smiley Face’ release. It really did feel like I saw [them] in a dream.