Having just completed a degree in music at BIMM Bristol, the UK’s indie/alternative rock musician Michael Vickers has both an education and wild amount of talent to back him up. Since he received his degree, he has been traveling across the countryside, winning fans all over the UK. His recent EP release Giant Leap Year is a six track journey – largely of heartbreak – that will undoubtedly capture you, throw you around a bit, and leave you questioning why its brilliance didn’t exist before.
While “Lemonade” in no way resembles Beyoncé’s, it’s a refreshing, beautiful introduction to the EP. He paints a quickly moving narrative that you can’t help but get wound up in. “When I’m Back Home” follows at a similar clip instrumentally, but Vickers’ vocals are better showcased with longer notes. As he’s aware of the negativity this person brings into his life, he still talks about how he gets caught up every time he’s back home. And we get it. “Still Not Forgot” has an Ed Sheeran feel to it, and this is where the rap influence comes in full throttle.
While “Maybe It’s Nothing” has him questioning his “best and worst decisions” and haunting us with his own take on anxiety that we can entirely relate to, “Things That No One Else Found Funny” is a track he utilizes to reminisce on “how it used to be” when “the two of us were happy”. It’s a beautiful track about past love, and a slight touch on heartache. The EP rounds out with “You Did, I Don’t”, a slow, crawling track about “the one that got away”.
Giant Leap Year is available now.
