Michellar’s music has been consistently a breath of fresh air. On ‘Cross My Heart’, Michellar’s latest release, she effortlessly lays out chord sequences that tug on the heartstrings, wrapping them in her serene melodies and an atmosphere of warm synths.
Michellar is Michelle Bond, a visual and recording artist and a songwriter based in San Francisco, California. With ‘Cross My Heart,’ Michellar outsourced the recording, mixing, and mastering process to Romanian audio engineer Marius, renewing her dedication to amplifying diverse voices in the music industry and her support to women-owned businesses. The song itself is a mesmerizing piece of reflective indie pop.
Michellar draws from experiences that have shaped her own relationships through her poignant storytelling and her captivating and fluid melodies to present us with a sweet song about the nuances of love. Musically, ‘Cross My Heart’ is led by a cavernous and ambient pad that engulfs everything in a serene stillness. The simple electronic beat is just like a steady heartbeat. Together, there’s life brought to the mostly minimal arrangement, with the pads being the visceral blood and the beat being the heartbeat. Michellar’s voice and its harmonies are arresting. Long and drawn lines make for a melodically accessible song that’s easy and forgiving.
With sweet chords and a composed, sleek arrangement, ‘Cross My Heart’ ends up being a delightful single that is immediately easy to love from Michelle Bond.