Michelle Lewis “”The Parts Of Us That Still Remain” Album Review

Positive energy can be electric, it can be contagious. When you put on a song or a record by Michelle Lewis that energy infects you and warms you from within. Even on the more down trodden songs, her enthusiasm and excitement about her craft shines through the speakers and envelopes the listener. The music is very fresh, its clean…so fresh and so clean, clean. But really, the songs are a kind of a gentle cool breeze on a summer evening experience.

The record is fleshed out nicely with some great, full and finely tuned arrangements to support and hold up Lewis’s vocal and finely picked acoustic guitar.

“Run, Run, Run” was recently released in video format as a tribute to the Boston Marathoners and really fits the “put this into video” format truly well. The commercial appeal of this lady’s songs in undeniable.

“Just Like a Movie” has a waltzy, dancing around the room vibe to it. It has a buoyant, bouncy feel with Michelle’s voice pushing the song along. I mean, honestly, this song sounds like it belongs in a movie. I can see it fitting in some montage where the main character is doing this and that and the other thing. It’s very clean with little flourishes here and there.

All the tracks are very polished. This isn’t gritty folk, but has more of a commercial edge. Not necessarily radio, but a very LA production for TV and the movies kind of a sound. I think it suits Michelle’s songs and her voice perfectly and I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to do a double take when I hear her voice popping up in a handful of different movies over the next 6 months.

The record is defined by intensively delicate vocal work throughout. Her voice has a particular hesitance, a very soft and gentle fragility. At any moment it could break, but it never does, it always holds strong. It makes the listening of her songs that much more engaging and visceral. You really tap into these songs and hear every note, every word, every breath. She just sings and it’s all there. Her voice is pretty, it’s simple, it’s really just pleasant.

Check out Michelle online at: michellelewismusic.com

Her new record “The Parts of Us that Still Remain” releases this week:

Friday, May 2
“The Parts Of Us That Still Remain”
Official Album Release Party @
Davis Square Theater
255 Elm Street
Somerville, MA
8 p.m., $15
Get your tickets now: eventfarm.com/ml