Revolve is
Paul Michel's third all-acoustic solo release, preceding the far superior full-band effort
Quiet State of Panic with a final batch of heartfelt singer/songwriter tunes. Listening to this lengthy seven-track EP makes it clear why he chose to go for the changeup. There is little if any sense of artistic growth from
Michel's two previous albums on
Revolve, and the songs themselves sound a bit unfinished in their Spartan surroundings. That said, fans who enjoyed
Ayuda! and
These Are All Beautiful Things will find songs like the lengthy centerpiece track, "Love, Sweet Love," comfortingly familiar, and although the quietly tense "You Know Her Name" would benefit greatly from a bass part and a drummer so that
Michel wouldn't have to try so hard to be his own rhythm section, it's still one of
Michel's most immediately accessible tunes.
Revolve is strictly for fans, then, but it's not without its low-key charms. ~ Stewart Mason