Photo: Giovanna Ferin
Dan Michaelson has taken his time with success, or rather, success has taken its time with him. Between 2003 and 2008, when he was in his mid-twenties, he recorded three albums with Absentee that were unfortunately only met with lukewarm recognition. In 2009, he went solo, specifically as the head honcho of Dan Michaelson and The Coastguards. The Londoner’s string-borne crooner sound has mainly Leonard Cohen to thank, though the ghosts of Bill Callahan or Dusty Springfield have likewise left their traces in his head and voice. After completing, via the 2016 release of »Memory«, an album trilogy that had begun with »Blindspot« three years earlier, Michaelson’s first studio album, »First Light«, followed in 2017 without the help of even the Coastguards. This may mean that he has turned away from the coast towards the open sea, in search of new truths. If this is the case, success won’t be paddling far behind.
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