Michellar is not here to pretend she’s 22, skint, or accidentally brilliant. That’s the first thing that makes REVERIE …. FROM THEN TILL NOW interesting as hell. This is an album made by someone who’s lived, fucked off for decades, come back older, wiser, and with absolutely nothing to prove. That freedom hums through every second of this record, sometimes for better, sometimes to its own detriment, but always honestly. You can feel the San Francisco air in it too – that slightly sun-bleached, soul-searching, coffee-stained optimism that refuses to die.
Michellar doesn’t ease you in gently either. It’s Another Year opens like a quiet reckoning, reflective but not self-pitying, the kind of song that stares down time rather than apologising for it. It sets the emotional tone nicely before Running Wildkicks the door open with Harrison Black in tow, injecting a bit of grit and momentum. It’s one of the album’s stronger moments, mainly because the collaboration actually adds tension rather than polite harmony – something a few later tracks could learn from.
Intersection featuring Tobias Wilson is where the album starts flexing its stylistic range. There’s a subtle crossroads theme here – musically and emotionally – that works because they dont oversell it. She trusts the songwriting, which is mostly a good instinct across the record. Promise pulls things back into classic folk-pop territory, clearly indebted to the Carole King school of emotional clarity, while September with Helen Walford brings warmth and texture without drifting into twee nostalgia. That balance is crucial, and when it lands, it really fucking lands.
We Both Can Fall with Gracie Lou is tender and fragile in the right places, but it’s also one of the moments where you start to notice the album’s main weakness: occasionally, the arrangements play it too safe. Michellar’s lyrics are confident and lived-in, yet the music sometimes sits politely behind them when it could push harder. Never Say Sorry threatens to do exactly that, hinting at a sharper edge, but then pulls its punch just before it could properly sting.
The Letter and the title track Reverie feel like the emotional spine of the album. These are the songs where her long hiatus actually becomes a strength, not a backstory bullet point. There’s patience here, and a sense that every line has earned its place. Still, a bit of sonic risk wouldn’t have gone amiss – more dirt under the fingernails, less polish on the edges.
Get Me There to Church with Helen Walford and Harrison Black is one of the album’s most ambitious collaborations, and thankfully it works. The interplay of voices gives it scale, even if the sentiment occasionally borders on over-reverent. Conquer All with Love, a duet with Harrison Black and Christina Rntd, leans hard into its message, and while the intention is admirable, it’s one of the few moments where subtlety slips away completely. Love conquers all, sure – but it doesn’t always need to shout about it.
By the time The Star closes the album, you’re left with a clear picture of an artist who’s reclaimed her voice and isn’t letting it go quietly again. This isn’t a flawless record, and it doesn’t need to be. Some songs could benefit from braver production choices and a willingness to let things get messy. But what REVERIE …. FROM THEN TILL NOW absolutely nails is sincerity without desperation, reflection without regret, and creativity without a deadline breathing down its neck. Michellar sounds like someone finally making music on her own terms – and that, in itself, is powerful as hell.
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