Georgia Weber and the Sleeved Hearts return with Big in Japan, a six-track EP that feels both intimate and expansive. Rooted in jazz but shaped by folk tales, Japanese traditions, and Weber’s life as an expat, the record carries a weight of reflection, yet never loses its sense of wonder. Recorded over several years at Wildwood Recording Studio in Brooklyn, the EP is the group’s most personal and thematically rich project to date, blending lyrical storytelling with improvisational musicianship.
The record opens with “Jo,” a short instrumental from guitarist Kenji Herbert. Its quiet, thoughtful tone sets the mood for what follows, pulling listeners into the meditative space that defines the EP. Next comes “Kintsugi,” a love song inspired by the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. It’s tender and understated, showing Weber at her most vulnerable, singing about love that endures not despite flaws, but because of them. “Wind Telephone” is the emotional centerpiece of the EP. Inspired by the real-life phone booth in Otsuchi, Japan, it offers a space for grief and remembrance, but also for hope. Weber’s vocals carry both ache and comfort, making it one of her most affecting performances to date.
The storytelling deepens with “Urashima Taro,” a song based on the Japanese folktale. Musically it swells like the tide, with shifting rhythms and a sense of movement that mirrors its themes of change and distance. The EP closes with “Koinobori,” Herbert’s reinterpretation of a Japanese children’s song, leaving the project on a note of nostalgia and dreamlike calm. What makes Big in Japan powerful is how it ties personal stories to cultural symbols, turning grief, love, and memory into something universal. It’s a record that is soft yet strong, rooted in jazz but branching into something broader and deeply human. With this release, Weber and her band prove once again that their music is not just heard, but felt.
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