Push

Description

Push is the fourth solo album by the American singer and songwriter Riki Michele of Adam Again fame, Kickstarter-funded and independently released in April 2015. The album was recorded by Stephen Leiweke, Aaron Chafin, and Margaret Becker at Yackland Studios in East Nashville, Tennessee; with Becker producing. All songs written by Riki Michele except tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9 co-written with Margaret Becker, with track 1 written by Kevin Hornback.

Riki Michele is backed by a session band featuring Matt Standfield on keyboards, Stephen Leiweke on guitars, and a rhythm section consisting of Rob “Stone” Cureton on bass and Jerry Roe on drums.

For many years, Riki Michele has lived under the shadow of her former band mate (and also former husband) Gene Eugene. This has been no easy task since Eugene is widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential artists in Christian music. This shadow, though, is as unfair as it is intimidating because Michele is quite the accomplished artist.

Push, her Kickstarter-funded solo project, reveals a Michelle many of us may never have imagined. Back in the day, she was the funky, dancing chick that oftentimes brightened Adam Again concerts with her unbridled energy. She greatly contrasted with Eugene’s many times down-in-the-mouth performances. There almost seemed to be a conflict between Eugene’s need to sing the blues with Michelle who, well, all she wanted to do was dance. Push, though, is not the sound of girl out to shake off the cares of the day by getting her groove on. Rather, it’s the clear message of a women who has come to her most comfortable place in life. After all, this is not just a musical artist; she’s also a wife and mother of young children.

Michele created this new project with Margaret Becker‘s help. Ironically, Michele and Becker were at seemingly opposite ends of the artistic spectrum back when Adam Again was leading the alternative rock charge, while Becker was a big mainstream star on the contemporary Christian scene. One gets the sense that each artist taught the other a few new tricks through this collaboration. While Becker helped Michele get in touch with her quieter, gentler side – exemplified by this album’s preponderance of ballads and mid-tempo numbers – Michele seemingly helped Becker steer away from simple, basic rock grooves, and into something a little more exotic. The chorus to «The Gift (Uwoduhi)», for example, has what sounds like an African chant within its chorus – something you’d never expect from Becker back during her rather predictable commercial heights. [Dan MacIntosh, AXS, May 2015]

Riki Michele had the cards stacked against her when she went solo in the very early 1990s, often unfairly. I enjoy her solo stuff, particularly 1993’s One Moment Please, but she was coming from the highly influential band Adam Again. Her particular sound was far more “pop,” more in tune with the band’s first couple of albums than later ones. Her circle of collaborators was, let’s face it, sort of a boys club. And her peers of the time were known for being belters, whereas Riki’s voice was softer and sweeter.

Time changes nearly everything, and those changes can be heard on Riki Michele’s long-awaited return to music, Push. First off, indie pop has embraced the sweet-voiced delivery, and rather than Riki running to catch up with the world, it is as if the world has finally caught up to her. She’s also found in producer/collaborator Margaret Becker — a versatile writer and performer in her own right — someone who allows her to be so much more expressive, ethereal, and dare I say soulful than in the past. Without knocking Riki’s previous work, it is like she’s now found a partner in artistic crime who has allowed her to unlock her own doors.

That freedom is significant, as it seems to have allowed Riki to say whatever she wants. That sounds evident in the track «What Would You Say?» which suggests the breaking of a dependent relationship. “What do I get from you, what am I clinging to, and will it ever feel right? So for the plans I’m making, I’m gonna heal this aching, I’m going to stop mistaking you for God.” You can read that however you choose to, but it could narrate any sort of relationship that acts as a crutch, be it with a lover, a friend, a chemical. The vagueness supports a universality that probably would have been out of her reach during the times of her earlier albums. Sadly, that openness was out of a lot of artists’ hands. That’s just the way things worked then.

«Hey Mama Hey» grapples with grief and grace: “Oh, but mama I do love your style, your graceful timing and your sweet smile, your giving hands that care for many, it’s your turn now — I’ll give you what you need.” That’s the toughest flip to make, isn’t it? When you find that a parent or caregiver has become the person in need of care. The song indicates the willingness to make that reversal, without patronization or infantilization, but with love.

And that’s the reoccurring theme that runs through Push. Even when the subjects get a bit heavy, the atmospheric music and the “you are here” immediacy of the message comes through. Everything outside of the moment we inhabit, even tomorrow, is a mystery. Sometimes the only way to get past the tragic moment is to push through, and once that happens, you can appreciate that moment afterward where all you really need to do is breathe. The CD is peaceful but not sedate. Riki Michele and her friends and conspirators have not come to lull you to sleep, but they certainly have produced a set of recordings that “get you in the feels,” as some might say. Push now stands as Riki Michele’s best solo effort, and all the pieces, including those that never quite aligned before, fit right into place. [Dw. Dunphy, PopDose, April 1, 2015]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/push/971808717)

CD tracklist:

01. Beautiful Wire – 3:58
02. Into Peace – 5:04
03. What Would You Say – 4:09
04. The Sweetness – 4:28
05. The Balance – 3:52
06. Push – 3:35
07. The Gift (Uwoduhi) – 4:02
08. The Big One – 4:31
09. I Feel Soul – 3:04
10. Hey Mama Hey – 3:49