Japanese Breakfast turns glamour gory in “Savage Good Boy”

Japanese Breakfast is out for blood in “Savage Good Boy.” Michelle Zauner’s self-directed video for the latest single from her upcoming album, Jubilee, has her starring alongside Michael Imperioli from The Sopranos. 

Pulling the song title from a headline about billionaires buying bunkers, Zauner writes from the perspective of a rich man coaxing a young woman into living with him underground. Despite flashy five-year plans and endless amounts of money, there’s something deeply unsettling about the whole situation. 

The music video mixes the brutal concrete of the industrial bunker with the decadence of Rococo fashion. The sterile setting makes the opulence seem ominous as Zauner hoverboards around in a ball gown and Imperioli frivolously makes it rain during a poker game. Working with cinematographer Adam Kolodny, the duo cited Chan Wook Park’s The Handmaiden, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, and Sally Potter’s Orlando as inspirations in a statement. 

Jubilee comes out June 4 via Dead Oceans. For now, you can watch “Savage Good Boy” below; also check out “Be Sweet” and “Posing in Bondage.” Japanese Breakfast kicks off their 2021 tour by playing three shows with Mannequin Pussy at Union Transfer; the first two nights are sold out, while the just-added third night goes on sale May 21st at 10 a.m. They’ll also play Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center on Sunday, September 12 with Luna Li and Hot Jam Factory; tickets for that show go on sale May 25th at noon.