Following the announcement of their new album Songs About You Specifically, MICHELLE has released “Mentos and Coke,” the second track from the project, set to drop on September 27th via Atlantic Records and Transgressive in the UK. The new single premiered on Mollie King’s Future Pop on BBC Radio 1 and is a catchy pop tune that explores the tensions in a deteriorating relationship, likened to the explosive combination of candy and soda. The song features choppy choral harmonies and punchy, vinyl-inspired drums, creating a sweetly intoxicating sound. MICHELLE describes the song as being about “the person you can’t help but lose yourself to—the one you can’t stand, and can’t stand to live without.”
Currently touring with Still Woozy on his Loveseat Tour, MICHELLE will embark on their own fall North American tour, A Tour For You Specifically, starting October 30th. The tour will include stops in Vancouver, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, and more. Tickets are available here.
To create their new album, MICHELLE rented a house in Ojai, California, where they were surrounded by lizards, the scent of ripe cactus fruit, and vast sandy landscapes. This setting provided a unique sense of solitude and intimacy, shifting the tone of their music. While their earlier work captured the restless energy of city life, these new songs explore dreamy shoegaze, slick funk riffs, and 80s synth-pop influences.
The band’s time spent touring and living together in Ojai fostered deeper connections among its members. “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,” says Emma Lee. This closeness allowed them to be more open and vulnerable in their songwriting. “It’s so easy to write a generic love or breakup song,” Julian Kaufman explains. “But many of these stories are true. We’re coming from a really honest place.”
On Songs About You Specifically, the band members delve into their complex desires, regrets, and moments of selfishness. By slowing down, eliminating distractions, and cultivating a communal closeness that required honesty, MICHELLE has crafted a collection of songs that feel authentic and truthful.
MICHELLE consists of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard. The predominantly POC and queer collective collaborates on writing and production among the six members. All of them grew up in New York, and their vibrant R&B reflects the city’s best qualities: the glow of neon lights on wet streets and the taste of a mango purchased on a summer Q train. Their new album follows the GLOW EP and the critically acclaimed albums AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS and HEATWAVE, praised by Nylon for defying categorization and by MTV as “mesmerizing.”
After these releases, the band toured the U.S. and Europe, opening for Gus Dapperton, Arlo Parks, and Mitski, headlining their own shows, and playing festivals like Governors Ball, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. This experience changed their perspective and sense of place as they approached the new album.
Listen to “Mentos and Coke” above, and stay tuned for more from this New York collective.