There gets to be a certain inflection point in mid-autumn in which the tendrils of winter, ever so gently, ever so insidiously, creep into the fissures in one’s own psyche. It’s at this point– usually in late October– that people get the hankering for those annual affective comforts to help them keep the frost at bay. Enter: steamy beverages, plaid outerwear, slasher films, and most pertinently, comfort music– mid-autumn, of all times, is a time to listen to tunes that invoke a peculiar and hyperspecific tenderness, a tenderness inextricably linked to memories of people and places with whom one shared the changing of the seasons in years past.

Today, right in the nick of time, NYC-based six-piece indie pop group, MICHELLE (known for their ability to invoke sonic tenderness like nobody’s business), has both announced a forthcoming EP, GLOW, and released two singles and accompanying music videos, “GLOW,” and “AGNOSTIC.” 

“AGNOSTIC” opens dryly: “If we’re not in love then why bother?” It’s a justifiable inquiry, and a quintessentially autumnal one: there’s really no use in stoking the dying embers of a relationship as the excesses of summer wither away. Conversely, the other single “GLOW,” warms– its slow crescendo and jangly, groove-in-your-living-room-with-your-closest-friends melody (crooned by deliciously talented Jamee Lockard) waxes in an unpretentious, harvest evening sort of way. The singles (and accompanying music videos) expertly showcase the band’s remarkable sonic chemistry and capacity for creative growth, and promise an even more dramatic level of success for the band in the months to come. 

Preceded by their critically acclaimed 2022 album, AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS, singles from MICHELLE’s GLOW cement the band as bona-fide, genre-bending, modern-day stars. Every one of MICHELLE’s offerings– from forthcoming GLOW to 2018’s HEATWAVE– underscore the collective’s seemingly endless potential: members Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard have spent five years dipping their toes into RnB, bedroom pop, anthemic funk, and indie grunge, and the singles from GLOW  (release date still unannounced) promise a renewal of (and continued improvement upon) this exploratory energy.

After a spirited appearance at this year’s Gov Ball and a series of sold-out headline shows across the US, UK, and Europe, MICHELLE, frenetic as ever, talented as ever, and armed with an ever-uncanny ability to tap into specific and private emotions, promises an EP unlike any other. For now, though, enjoy your late autumn; enjoy that strange, fraught, seasonal turnover, with “GLOW” and “AGNOSTIC” to keep you company.