Michigander from—you guessed it—Kalamazoo, Michigan, is the Midwestern rock band you've been looking for. Mixing genuine songwriting with pop sensibilities, this group crafts a sound that is full of prairie wisdom. Michigander's songs are serious without being morose. They're full of deep, honest contemplations and a longing for love, but they surround themselves in a veiled optimism. The lyrics are poetic and oftentimes carry a story upon them, one of the aspects that brings this band into the folk tradition as well. They don't look like a folk band, but Michigander has a lot in common with the contemporary wave of folk musicians going electric. It was a tale foretold in popular folk music's heyday by Bob Dylan, but the music has evolved so much since then that the primary things we connect with are the lyrical prowess and the song structuring. Everything in this session adds up to Michigander creating the perfect soundtrack for a late-night drive. I know that distinction may seem like a platitude at this point in music history, but the songs genuinely have a feeling of movement within them. From the name of the group to their song called "Mexico," the ideas of place, transit, and home are all visible. They're examined alongside the songwriter trying to understand love while barreling through time and highways alike. By the end of the session, you just might find yourself tuned in to the rhythms of streetlights passing by and the roads that gently curve beneath them.