Is Micah a guitarist with the last name of Olsan or is it the name of his band? Both, it appears. Three young men appear on the back of the jewel case for Highs, Lows, Peaks, Valleys, Rivers, but “their” website focuses on the threesome’s mono-monikered guitarist—a hometown Milwaukee favorite for a few years.
However one wants to enumerate Micah, HLPVR manages the simultaneous tricks of being both loosely discursive yet relatively compact, with melodic hooks that take (mostly) distinct directions. Like a pared down jam band or a power trio in slow-cook mode, the often emotionally occluded lyrics chronicling relationships and the quizzical turns they can take matches text to musical context. The effect recalls either an unheard ’70s singer-songwriter excursion with fine, minimal musicianship or bucolic indie hipsters going retro. A good guess is that Micah, however many of them or him should be credited, would rather you not categorize but merely enjoy.
