MICHELLE Grow Up, but Stay Connected on AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS
The New York collective's sound is as cohesive as ever on their sophomore album
Few albums evoke a time and place like MICHELLE’s debut record HEATWAVE, an R&B- and hip-hop-infused listen that is essentially a New York summer in aural form. The collective’s lyrics tap into all of the senses—the taste of street cart mango, the overpowering odors of garbage and urine, the sticky heat of the city on your skin—and transport you to a cramped subway car, sweat dripping down your back as you head to the next show. HEATWAVE is about more than the city that never sleeps, though, capturing “every member of MICHELLE as a person at the end of their youth,” as band member Charlie Kilgore noted in press materials. Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard are native New Yorkers, bound together by geography and friendship. Four years after their debut, the collective is releasing their sophomore effort, AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS, which Kilgore said is about their “transition to adulthood.”
AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS feels like a natural progression for the band, with the distinctive throughlines of their love for one another and their city (as well as other topics) connecting the two records even as the band members grow up. On HEATWAVE’s final track, “2.25” (a reference to subway fare), the group profess their love of New York, warts and all: “Smells like trash and piss, but I know that’s never gonna change.” Their sophomore album closer “MY FRIENDS” sees the group reaffirming their connection to their hometown, but also to each other—“They look like Brooklyn, that’s where I found them”—before going out on wistful piano and horns.
The self-care slow jam “NO SIGNAL” seems to be in direct conversation with HEATWAVE’s “GET OFF UR PHONE.” “Tryna get connected? I don’t need no WiFi,” they sing on “GET OFF UR PHONE,” imploring another person to unplug so they can bond IRL. “NO SIGNAL” takes this to the next level, with the band declaring that they want “No signal phone down off the grid,” and that “Away with myself, I’ll find what matters.” Over the last four years, they’ve discovered that disconnecting from the digital world not only fosters relationships, but also clarifies one’s sense of self. The sway-worthy “EXPIRATION DATE,” featuring hooky stepping stone vocals on the chorus, follows on from the HEATWAVE track “LOVE UR NAME,” both songs focusing on a romance that you know may not last, but that still overwhelms you from head to toe.