Lost Time Becomes Found Art in Michellar's Debut Album, "Reverie....From Then Till Now"

Michellar is a San Francisco singer-songwriter. Her debut album, "Reverie....From Then Till Now", released on January 2, 2026, is the kind of release that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about artistic timelines. Michellar didn't spend her twenties playing dive bars or her thirties chasing record deals. She built a landscape design business, lived a full life, and kept her musical dreams tucked away.

Fast forward to now, and Michellar has poured thirty months of pent-up creativity into twelve tracks that feel less like a debut and more like a dam finally breaking. Working with producer Tobias Wilson since October 2024, she has crafted an album that comfortably sits in the alt-rock and indie folk spaces. Michellar calls these songs "miracles." The confidence to create something good had been stripped away so thoroughly that reclaiming it felt impossible. Then came something she calls "the DeYoung experience," a turning point that cracked open doors she didn't even know existed.

The title track, "Reverie," captures those rare moments when she finds peace with herself and the world around her. It's that mental space where inspiration lives, where she can finally accept who she is now, not who she was supposed to be, not who others wanted her to be. Michellar offers something more interesting: the perspective that those years weren't wasted. They built her up. They gave her something to write about. Time flew by, sure, but she needed that time to become the person who could write these songs.

Tobias Wilson's production choices understand the assignment: support the artist, showcase the songs, and get out of the way when needed. Across twelve tracks, you get a woman catching up for lost decades but never sounding rushed or frantic. Each song moves through themes of self-discovery, empowerment, and strength. Michellar's voice carries the album with an understated strength. All those years of running a business, raising a family, living life outside of music, they weren't the enemy. They were the curriculum. The landscape design work, the responsibilities, even the decades of creative silence all contributed to who Michellar is now. Without them, these songs wouldn't exist in their current form. This mature perspective elevates the album beyond simple catharsis into something more philosophical about time, identity, and creative necessity.

Twelve tracks could easily overstay their welcome, but Michellar and Wilson have sequenced things in a way that maintains momentum without exhausting the listener. Songs build on each other thematically while offering enough variation in tempo and mood to keep things interesting. For anyone who's ever put their dreams on hold, convinced themselves it's too late, or wondered whether the things they wanted at twenty still matter at forty or fifty, Michellar offers a compelling answer. All of these songs prove that creativity doesn't come with an expiration date.

So go ahead and stream "Reverie....From Then Till Now." Let Michellar's story remind you that your timeline is your own, and lost time can become found art.

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