About

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Michael Cormier-O'Leary is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, composer, and improviser. Under his name, he has released four songwriter albums (Days Like Pearls, M-F, More Light!!, and Anything Can Be Left Behind) and two collections of instrumental music (Heard From the Next Room and Brief Hold EP). He is also credited with scoring music for the podcast ‘Drifting Off With Joe Pera’ as well as season 3 of APM's 'Spectacular Failures.’ 

Cormier-O'Leary is the primary composer and bandleader of the shape-shifting instrumental collective, Hour. With twin 2018 releases (Tiny Houses and Anemone Red), Hour has received accolades from Stereogum, Pitchfork, and NPR, among others. Comedian Joe Pera cited Tiny Houses as being a record he had on heavy rotation during the writing of season 3 of his Adult Swim show Joe Pera Talks With You. Hour is recording a new record in 2023. 

Cormier-O'Leary is also a founding member of the alt-country band Friendship, with critically-lauded releases (Dreamin and Shock Out of Season) on Owen Ashworth's label, Orindal Records and a brand new record (Love The Stranger) out now on Merge Records. The band continues to tour the country extensively.

In 2019, Cormier-O'Leary founded Dear Life Records, a label that has since released music by Kath Bloom, MJ Lenderman, Natalie Jane Hill, Florry, Wendy Eisenberg, Karl Blau, and countless others. It's become a forward-thinking label that seeks to highlight the intersection of folk music traditions with improvised and experimental song forms.

Most recently, Cormier-O’Leary navigates the unpredictability of moving across states, a new marriage, and the see-sawing of self-employment to craft a collection of songs steeped in fiction and exaggeration. Anything Can Be Left Behind (released May 5, 2023 on Dear Life Records) sheds the rigidity of structure to embrace a playful, experimental approach that highlights the nonsensical, goofiness of existence through improvisation, and an ever-curious attitude. Coating the world in cartoonish color to offer a new perspective, Cormier-O’Leary acts as a guiding force through the persistence of change.

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All works are registered with BMI and represented by

Merge Publishing.