After dinner, we talk dreams

"A lively dose of self-help: The band's second album captures the tenderness and joy at play with the knotty tensions of growing up in New York City ... They say that some of the most important things in life you do around a dinner table. It's where you eat, date, share stories, and make both memories and important decisions. And for six-piece Michelle - a collective of multi-talented vocalists, songwriters and producers barely out of their teens - it's where great change began in late 2018, as they mapped out the vibrant and accomplished 'After Dinner We Talk Dreams' over laughter and lovingly-made meals ... Many of these songs navigate the pleasures and perils of New York living, softening heavy emotional blows with melodic confection, and absorbing elements of R&B, pop and soul to soothe their ache".

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"Harmonies flitter in and out of frame as the four female vocalists of Michelle (...) develop their craft even more since their 2018 debut album Hatwave. As talented as they are at treating their voices like instruments, though, there's no overuse of it. It's not the only thing Michelle do well, and they don't need to lean on it ... The percussion and variety of bass sounds that producers Charlie Kilgore and Julian Kaufman layer in these songs is as musically impressive as anything the collective has put out to this point. Michelle will always be a pop group, but the tension in this slate of songs gives a different air to the other flowery elements in the production. It's a product of six people developing individually and collectively".

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"'After Dinner We Talk Dreams' is a sonically cohesive listen, which is all the more impressive when considering that the album came together after three years of stop-and-start writing. While this means that some songs get lost in the shuffle, a little too same-y for the casual listener, on the whole, the 14 tracks blossom with chill bangers that make the most of Michelle's honeyed vocals ... Listening to the record, it's so clear how much fun the band have writing and performing together. "Talking To Myself" has hints of Corinne Bailey Rae, thanks to sunny guitar and lyrics like, "You can keep the toaster / Leave me with the breadcrumbs," but bubbly synth and goofy vocalization at the end mark the song as undeniably Michelle's ... Michelle are one of the most underrated New York bands of the last few years, but hopefully their exquisite harmonies and groovy pop hooks on 'After Dinner we Talk Dreams' will draw in new fans. By connecting so well with one another, Michelle reach listeners in a singular and effortlessly listenable way".

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