San Francisco-based artist Michellar crafts a soaring, psychedelic nostalgia on new single “Dreaming.” Drawing inspiration from ’60s psychedelia, and Grace Slick especially, the production excels in its twanging guitar hypnotics and melodic vocal layers — which span from the elongated title-touting declarations and peppier wordless backing reflections. Michellar’s knack for atmospheric songcraft and retro-friendly intrigue shines throughout the track, which was recorded at The Women’s Audio Mission Recording studio in San Francisco and then mixed in the UK.
The resonating production also pairs with relatable themes, taking hold in capturing the sting of feeling unheard and the resentment of having to put survival before passion. “I have always been called a Dreamer and I have learned to accept that,” the artist explains. “But I also felt that because of the way things have turned up for me, I felt like people and circumstance have led me to life paths that wasted my dreams away. They didn’t believe in my dreams and so I worked hard for the need to survive and not fulfill those dreams. This is spiteful song about the way I felt about that experience.”
“I’m running, and dreaming,” Michellar sings, emitting a series of emotions — including screaming — through a recounting of emotions crafted from that sense of spite and missed opportunity. An especially memorable bridge captivates past the mid-point — “I have been to golden silver shores,” — as shining organs meld seamlessly with the hazy guitar complements. “You said I need to waste away,” the vocals continue, capturing those aforementioned spiteful qualities as more title-touting vocal soaring invigorates. “Dreaming” is an impactfully melodic and nostalgic success from Michellar.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
