A new EP release from Michael Stolar gives off such a lush character in the form of a sort of precious honesty that feels so understandable and relatable that it's really dipping into his personality and a lot of these songs feel like they may have been cathartic for the artist to write and release but for the listener, they make perfect sense and it's very easy to get attached to each song individually.
The EP is titled The Dropout and not only does it blare a youthful honesty, but it's all done with such a tasteful genre-bending pop roach production wise where you have a great blend of natural and digital instrumentation, but each track is just bursting with that persona so that you can become attached to it super quickly.
You have layers of different guitars both acoustic and electric, loads of synths and pads that swell and sway giving the songs the essence of being alive and breathing but it all creates this incredible atmosphere that you automatically fall right into and when that happens, it pulls you away from your surroundings for a good chunk of time which in my opinion is a gift in music from any genre or anyone.
This EP is more of an experience than an EP and listening to it in full which is certainly the way you should be listening to it, is a beautiful escape but it's also an insight into yourself at times because he's so incredibly descriptive and articulate with his lyrics that they're not only relatable but at times there are parts of songs that feel like they're meant just for you even though you know they're not.
Pretty much everything about this release is gracefully done and every song is so emotionally driven that you become engulfed in the record but the big thing about it is to listen to the EP in full because if you only listen to one or two tracks, you're not getting the full spectrum of what it all has to offer.
The record is five tracks long, but it feels much bigger and that's because he digs so deep into his own inner thoughts and spits them out with an amazing precision that each verse at times can feel impactful by itself let alone the whole song.
You're one of the most impressive things about this record is his lyrical phrasing and how he puts words together and a lot of the hooks and choruses will certainly end up bouncing around your head for hours or even days after the songs have ended and the only way to satiate that is to listen to them again.
These songs are a cry out from Michael himself because this is certainly something he had inside of him that he absolutely needed to get out or he probably wouldn't have been able to go on.
I love stuff like this because it's so meaningful and it's so impactful that it ends up affecting how you feel.
These songs are moving but they're not moving in a love song type of way. They're moving reflectively, and at times memories of your own can pop into your head, different thoughts can cross through, and these kinds of connections are rare to find in music so with this record it was so refreshing to hear it in every song.
This was a cinematic, vast, pop atmosphere that you easily fall into and get engulfed in and then by the end, you're washed away with it all and renewed.
I'm not sure if that was the point of the record but it certainly had that effect on me.
 An absolutely gorgeous record that was woven with intricacy, attention to detail, character, charisma, and more heart than you would think along with creativity in production that is expansive.
Check out this record when you can and listen to it from beginning to end with headphones on because, in my opinion, it's the best way to soak it in.
Remember where you heard it first.