Michelle's back...with a colorful pop sound.
5
By JingleBeau4
Season 4 of NBC's The Voice alum Michelle Chamuel may have been the strongest runner up to that other girl (who is in the "Friend Zone") but her newest album has its own feeling to it - and is appropriately titled "Feel It" EP.
Many people enjoyed Chamuel's hard-rock-and-techno mix, and her new EP does not disappoint. "In The Starlight" has enough reggae-beat to it with a highly electronic-synthesized chill to back it. The title track has that kind of Pat Benatar-meets-Taylor Swift "1989" beat that those who grew up in the age of big glasses (which Michelle rocks) will really dig, a perfect chill out song. "Before I Go" has the ultimate message to someone there special, and reminds me a lot of a Coldplay-and-90s Seal mashup. The B-side (if you can call it that in the age of iTunes :) ) of the EP has the flowery and somewhat children-colorful instrumental "Summer Field" to kick it off. This is followed by a collaboration with Christopher Norman in "The Wish We Made", reminding me of her Voice predecessor Melanie Martinez, albeit with none of the dark anger that the Big Bow produces. And to wrap the album, the bonus "Feel It" demo has more of a Tori Kelly-esque hip-hop aspect to it.
Michelle does cater to a lot of her usual listeners who remember her from before her Voice Following, but I would also recommend this to folks who treasure the 80s throwback spirit drawn up by Tori Kelly, Swift, and the style of teens with the big glasses, Adidas Superstars, and combat boots. She does have her own style of hybridizing electronic-synthesizers without attacking the beat too hard. It helps one relax, after all.
