MICHELLE has announced their highly anticipated new album, Songs About You Specifically, set to drop on September 27th via Atlantic Records and Transgressive in the UK. Alongside this exciting news, the band has shared a new single, “Oontz,” which effortlessly slides into a silky groove while narrating the tumultuous journey of an unstable relationship. Complementing the album’s release, MICHELLE has also revealed their North American tour, aptly named A Tour For You Specifically, with stops in cities including Vancouver, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, and more. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 21st, at 10 AM local time.
During the creation of their new album, MICHELLE sought inspiration by renting a house in Ojai, California. Surrounded by lizards, the sweet aroma of ripe cactus fruit, and expansive sandy vistas, the band experienced a unique blend of solitude and camaraderie. This change of scenery profoundly influenced their sound. While their earlier work channeled the vibrant restlessness of city life, the new tracks expand into starry shoegaze reveries, smooth funk riffs, and breezy 80s synth-pop.
The months spent touring and living together in Ojai strengthened the bonds within 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,” says Emma Lee. “There isn’t really an opportunity for that in any other kind of relationship in your life.” This deep sense of trust and comfort 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 adds. “But many of these stories are true. We’re coming from a really honest place.”
Their closeness facilitated the creation of more intimate music. On Songs About You Specifically, the band delves into their complicated desires, voices their regrets, and acknowledges their moments of selfishness. By slowing down, cutting out distractions, and fostering a sense of communal closeness that necessitated honesty, MICHELLE has crafted a collection of songs that feel profoundly truthful.
MICHELLE consists of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard. The predominantly POC and queer collective mix and match writing and production duties among themselves. All six members grew up in New York, and their fluorescent R&B captures the city’s essence: the glow of neon lights reflecting off rain-slicked streets, the taste of a sticky mango bought on a summertime Q train. The new album follows their GLOWEP and critically acclaimed albums AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS and HEATWAVE, with Nylon praising them as a band that “defies categorization” and MTV calling them “mesmerizing.”
After these releases, the band toured the U.S. and Europe, opening for Gus Dapperton, Arlo Parks, and Mitski, selling out their own headline shows, and performing at festivals such as Governors Ball, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. These experiences broadened their perspective and sense of place, influencing the direction of their new album.