Michelle Zauner turns to melancholy in her new album

“All of my ghosts are real, all of my ghosts are my home,” Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast sings in her singular way — sweetness laced with sorrow.

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Four years ago, the release of her Grammy-nominated album “Jubilee” dovetailed with her bestselling memoir “Crying in H Mart” — chronicling her love of Korean food and loss of her mother — to produce a season of success. Then came a film adaptation of her memoir, for which she wrote the screenplay. With the Hollywood strikes, though, it came to a grinding halt (and later a full stop, when actor and director Will Sharpe left the project). In the aftermath, Zauner recorded new tracks. She sidestepped the spotlight by moving to Seoul — where she immersed herself in Korean language and culture — the subject of her upcoming second book. Zauner talked to The Associated Press about her fourth studio album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women).” Out Friday, it’s that rare thing: a cerebral yet deeply felt album from an artist with just enough commercial success to secure resources for her still-quite-indie vision.