Something very special happens in the moment a listener truly connects to a song–some intangible reaction that bridges science and emotion, turning firing synapses into something beautiful. Another Michael exists for that moment: when a song transforms the setting of a long walk home, or when it speaks to a past experience while simultaneously making a new one, or when it taps into something universal by relating details so specific and personal that they could only be revealed in music. On their new LP Wishes To Fulfill, the band set out to revel in their love of song, to create and pay tribute to that transcendent musical moment and create their finest work yet.
Wishes To Fulfill is a lean 29 minute set of nine single-worthy tracks that are so timelessly hooky that they might fool you into thinking you’ve stumbled upon a greatest hits collection from some classic guitar pop band rather than the latest release from of the genre’s most exciting up-and-comers. Album highlights like “Angel,” “Baseball Player,” and “Water Pressure,” feel like Another Michael putting all of their songwriting craftsmanship to creating songs that will be stuck in your head after one chorus. And throughout, vocalist Michael Doherty’s conversational lyricism matches the music’s unbridled creativity.
Another Michael’s adoration for music allows for the simple satisfaction of finding that solace, but it also taps into something deeper, something connective. “Music feels like a medium of communication,” says guitarist Nick Sebastiano, “It’s not a purposeful decision to talk about music in our songs but it just inherently means so much to us. If something makes your heart sing, the audience is going to hear it.” On Wishes To Fulfill, the band didn’t set out to capture the all encompassing, existential value of music, but they did contribute to it–offering more songs to the world and with them chances to create one of those moments.