MICHELLE by Raphael Gualtier
“An entirely new era of MICHELLE, emphasizing their creative maturity and growth as a collective" V Magazine
"Plush R&B pop that feels wholly indebted to the flexuous city that surrounds them" The FADER
"The kind of breezy, timeline-cleansing tunes our overstimulated brains are begging for right now" Entertainment Weekly
"Crooning, dance-worthy tracks, euphoric R&B melodies, and sucker-punching lyrics" Elle Magazine
PRE-ORDER: SONGS ABOUT YOU SPECIFICALLY https://MICHELLE.lnk.to/SAYS
LISTEN: “Mentos and Coke” https://michelle.lnk.to/MentosandCoke
(August 1st, 2024) - On the heels of announcing their new album Songs About You Specifically, MICHELLE shares “Mentos and Coke,” the second offering from their new project due September 27th via Atlantic Records and Transgressive in the UK. The new single debuted with a first play on Mollie King’s Future Pop on BBC Radio 1 and is a catchy pop jam with lyrics that outline a strained relationship on the verge of irreparable damage, just like the eponymous combination of candy and soda. Utilizing choppy choral harmonies and punchy vinyl-tinged drums, they come together and ooze with intoxicating sweetness. MICHELLE shares about the new single, “‘Mentos and Coke’ is for the person you can’t help but lose yourself to. The one you just can’t stand, and can’t stand to live without.”
Currently supporting Still Woozy on his Loveseat Tour, MICHELLE will be taking their catalog on the road once again during their fall North American tour titled A Tour For You Specifically. Launching October 30th, the headline run includes live dates in Vancouver, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles and more. Tickets are available for purchase here.
While writing their new album MICHELLE decided to rent out a house in Ojai, California. Surrounded by lizards, the smell of ripe cactus fruit, and endless expanses of sand, they experienced a sense of solitude and closeness they hadn’t before. It shifted the tone of their work. While their earlier music channeled the churning restlessness of the city, these news songs meander and expand into starry shoegaze reveries, slick funk riffs, and lilting 80s synth pop.
The months they spent touring, as well as the experience of living together in Ojai, fostered new bonds between the band. “There are friends I've had for almost my whole life who I won't know as intimately as I know members of this group,” Emma Lee says. “There isn't really an opportunity for that in any other kind of relationship in your life.” The sense of trust and comfort they fostered with each other allowed them to be more candid and vulnerable in their songwriting too. “It’s so easy to write a generic love or breakup song,” Julian Kaufman says. “But many of these stories are true. We’re coming from a really honest place.”
Their newfound closeness helped them write more vulnerable music. On Songs About You Specifically, the band members express their complicated desires, voice their regrets, and own up to their moments of selfishness. By slowing down, cutting out any distractions, and fostering a sense of communal closeness that necessitated honesty, MICHELLE ended up with a collection of songs that feel like the truth.
MICHELLE is comprised of Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard. The predominantly POC and queer collective mix and match the writing and production groups amongst the six of them. All 6 members of the group grew up in New York, and their fluorescent R&B encapsulates the best the city has to offer: the glow of neon lights bouncing off rain-slicked streets, the taste of a sticky mango purchased on a summertime Q train. The new album follows their GLOW EP and critically acclaimed albums AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS and HEATWAVE, praised by Nylon as a band that "defies categorization" and MTV as "mesmerizing."
Following these releases the band traveled the U.S. and Europe opening for Gus Dapperton, Arlo Parks, and Mitski, selling out their own headline shows, and playing festivals including Governors Ball, Outside Lands and Lollapalooza. It was an experience that shifted their perspective and sense of place heading into the new album.
Listen to “Mentos and Coke” above and stay tuned for more from the New York collective coming soon. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment