Review Summary: A warm and nostalgic debut album from a band with a lot of individual strengths that culminate into a solid whole.
Another Michael are a three piece group from Pennsylvania comprised of Michael Doherty, Alenni Davis and Nick Sebastiano. This is their debut full-length album titled New Music and Big Pop, and it’s a very cute album. Tapping into the independent twee pop with surf rock inflections come consideration of The Beach Boys, they are a band that move as a very strong and confident unit with tight instrumentation, three part harmonies and nostalgic melodies.
The first song on the album is ‘New Music’ which is a perfect summation of the album’s disposition. It is soft, melodic and finds vocalist Michael Doherty in self-reflection and profundity in otherwise banal circumstances.
“We were up late online talking about new music
And you sent me a link to a song that I’d never heard before
I need to get my headphones on
Just think about the long pause after it’s gone
And never forget the times I was wrong
I swear I’ll follow along”
Tapping into that sense of finality when a song or an album finishes and the moment of silence follows, using that space as an opportunity to self-reflect speaks to me as a modern man’s observation, maybe somewhat introverted and self-deprecating but certainly thoughtful and considered. I admire how he can explore his faults but find a nugget of confidence in himself, too. Like on ‘I’m Not Home’ where he sings
“I can be pretty tired and lazy, but I want you all to know
That I’m building a boat to assure you that I’m composed”
There’s also a certain innocence to the lyrical style. It’s not complicated or verbose, and this calls to mind the same sense of naivety that came on Brian Wilson’s lyricism for The Beach Boys. For Another Michael, it certainly sells the sincerity of the self-reflection and I find it very relatable.
All this is carried by a warm acoustic palette. A snugly mic'd acoustic guitar drives much of the music’s rhythm while Alenni Davis’ electric guitar offers accentuations like the fidgeting shreds on ‘Row’ or the blossoming strums on ‘I know You’re Wrong’. The bass here is nicely balanced too, giving into the song’s soft and hazy vibe. It’s a nicely engineered set of instruments. If I had one complaint here, it would be that maybe the drum machine is a little tinny on tracks like ‘Shaky Cam’. A personal preference but I would have liked to have heard that same rhythm played on brushes and an acoustic kit instead.
Additionally, ‘I’m Not Home’ doesn’t quite work alongside the other brighter songs. It’s a folk song in the style of Simon & Garfunkel or Fleet Foxes, and stands out as the album’s melancholic refrain but a breakdown featuring a rather limp air-horn doesn’t quite nail the dark undercurrents that it should. All the same, it’s got good qualities like the aforementioned lyrics and reverberated vocals that do deliver.
Although a lot of the record is quite understated, there’s a lot of hidden magic in here. Doherty as a song-writer composes a variety of song-structures from dedicated verse-chorus pop songs to folk tunes or an album closer that ends with a building outro. His voice too is a perfect match for the gentle innocence of the album. He’s flanked either side by matching harmonies. Sebastiano’s is a subtle baritone while Davis is a secret weapon! Her vocal tracking at the end of ‘Shaky Cam’ is particularly awesome, but I also love her brief moment in the spotlight on ‘Row’. I’d love to hear her and Doherty fully duet in the future as their voices are a wonderful compliment.
And I am certainly excited for Another Michael’s future. I think this is a very strong debut that delivers familiar styles in a sincere way. The cards are on the table regarding what they might do next but with empathetic lyrics, well rendered sound and solid song-writing, I think there’s going to be a lot of good music from them in the future.
