Michael Lewis has been playing music seriously ever since he made his mom cry with a ukulele rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and realized he might actually have some talent at this little musical hobby of his. It’s been a whirlwind of songwriting, voice lessons and a capella groups (he’s in Penny Loafers) since that fateful night in tenth grade, and with his first EP, “Hearts of Sand,” Michael is putting a lot out on the table.
“The title of the EP—‘Hearts of Sand’—it’s this idea of hearts being fickle and able to fall through your hand, just like sand,” he says about the album title, and the stories behind the five–song track list clearly indicate that. From slower tunes about the disintegration of a relationship to the waltzy title track, the EP explores a number of emotions and musical styles.
“I started out really listening to Jason Mraz and Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles, and I was very lyrically inspired by their metaphorical language,” he says about his musical influences. Those influences are prominent in songs like “Stay A Little While” and his personal favorite “Pittsburgh/LA,” which he describes as “rootsy” songs with imagery—heavy lyrics about love and missed connections. “My songs are sort of an autobiographical vignette or a snapshot of that moment in time,” he says about the stories his songs tell.
One of the most entertaining stories he tells is on the fourth track, “Emily,” which Michael describes as a “sort of ‘fuck you’ song.” With a fun bass line and a saxophone–filled accompaniment, Lewis dips his toes into an R&B style inspired by the likes of “riffers” like Jazmine Sullivan and Tori Kelly. “That song I wrote for two reasons, one: to tell somebody ‘fuck you’ and two: instead of saying something like with most of my songs, I needed somebody to hear something with that song,” Michael says about the angrier nature of the words. The Mraz/Michaelson/Bareilles inspirations are clear when he croons clever lyrics like, “But I’m not going silently, no / I want everyone to see / the way you fed me to the wolves / when I called out your name / Emily.” On another note, this song, arguably the most adventurous on the album, is a clear effort to achieve what Michael calls, “a dichotomy of singer–songwriter lyrics and... these things that are typically R&B, gospel, that sort of vein, in terms of the stylistic chocies and notes.” Although right now he wouldn’t describe all of his music as that dichotomy, he “would love to be able to do that one day.”
While Lewis seems to be easily finding his footing with his music, he’s been having a harder time deciding what to do with his Penn career. “I don’t know, I don’t know yet. I’m one of those undecided wishy–washy West Coast kind of kids,” he declares when asked about what his major might be. Except that he’s really not a wishy–washy kid, because Michael wants to be a musician when he grows up. “I used to think of [a music career] as a siren. A siren calling to a ship and just destroying it, and I felt like I was on that ship. All I could think was ‘oh my God, I need to not be pulled in because this [a music career] is impractical, and it’s scary, and it’s hard, but I just came to the realization that... I feel like this is the only career path that could fulfill me.” Initially afraid of pursuing a music career, he’s now fully embraced the idea, with all of its impracticalness and scariness and difficulty.
Check out his most recent EP “Hearts of Sand” on Bandcamp or check out his pipes in person in a Penny Loafers performance on campus.
