The Japanese House shares her new single ‘:)’ (Smiley Face), a country-tinged track that is an unabashed ode to happiness, via Dirty Hit.
The track arrives in the midst of a headline tour of the US, as well as a string of dates supporting Maggie Rogers. The Japanese House will also be headlining the Festival Republic Stage at Reading and Leeds Festival this August.
“‘Smiley Face’ is a song I wrote when I was very excited about talking to someone off a dating app. She lived in Detroit and I was fantasising about flying to meet her. I was in a session at the time for someone else stuff but I couldn’t help this song spilling out of me, I was in some sort of frenzy. Turns out I did buy the plane tickets, now we’re engaged,” shares Amber Bain, aka The Japanese House.
Listen to ‘:)’ by The Japanese House on the F1 Tracks playlist on Spotify.
‘:)’ follows The Japanese House second studio album In the End It Always Does, which was released last summer to critical acclaim. The album has been supported by a packed year of touring, including her own headline tours of the UK, US and Japan – including her biggest headline show to date as London’s Roundhouse – as well as shows with The 1975 on their sold out 2024 UK arena tour in February.
It’s been nearly a decade since Bain’s break-out in 2015, back when she was a mysterious unidentified figure shrouded in mystery and reverb. These days though, Bain’s sound and style is characteristically wide open, her vulnerabilities, thoughts and innermost feelings stitched into a tapestry of gorgeous, elevated pop music.
