Kelly McMichael adeptly synthesized decades of pop rock sounds into her 2021 album Waves, and now the St. John's songwriter is continuing to branch out. On her new two-song single, "You Got It Wrong" and "Too Soon to Tell," she previews her new album with two very different songs that are unified by a cynical outlook on love.
A-side "You Got It Wrong" quite literally takes an "everything and the kitchen sink" approach to production, layering the percussive sounds of dishes clattering in the sink into a stomp-clapping freakout of jazzy art rock. Alluding to a breakup that follows the initial rush of love, the ramshackle soundscape might have listeners fetching the bolt cutters — but the folksy bossa nova B-side "Too Soon to Tell" takes a more delicate approach, as McMichael warns against falling too hard for a new partner, as if to avoid the disappointment chronicled in the first song.
Sophomore album After the Sting of It is due out later this year via LHM Records.