“Michigan” is a lovely new track from Half Bath, the Washington, DC-based project of Reed Doherty. Twangy guitars and heartfelt vocals kick off, exuding a swaying, nonchalant charm. “We’re only here for a couple of years,” the vocals let out, capturing the fleeting sense of time, especially in relation to familial occasions as time progresses. The track’s primary hook — “somebody at a festival told her, she should really move to Boulder,” — is melodically irresistible, also relaying effective lyrical sentiments about the drive to leave one’s hometown, also echoed in the closing line: “You ran away ‘cause someone ignored ya / Back in Michigan.” “Michigan” hits all the right marks.
Regarding the track, Doherty writes: “I wrote it in April and its mostly about the guilt that I feel about not visiting my family enough and being bad at keeping in touch and then the stark realization that the pandemic was only going to make that worse. Then I slapped a catchy-ass hook on it.”
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“Michigan” and other memorable tracks from this month can also be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of January 2021’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Folk.
Woweezowee, thanks for the write-up! “Melodically irresistible” might be my favorite phrase of all time, haha.
Love the band “Half Bath.” Refreshingly different.