Craig Douglas Miller reaches his 50s after two decades of battling multiple demons and a music career abandoned for those 20 years and what a debut solo album this is. The hook up with Marty Willson-Piper has resulted in a wonderful Pop Rock affair with the emphasis on Rock.
The Church hasn't been the same for me since Willson-Piper left and when Peter Koppes followed suit that was it for me after being a fan from the very early days. Miller is also congratulated because I haven't heard Marty play like this for ages. Significance is absolutely awesome,
This album is about Miller though and his second coming and although I had loved a couple of the lead up singles and added them to Listening To This Week, but even with the quality of those, I didn't expect the album to be this great. I wrongly felt that the singles would be the centrepieces, they are just part of the joy.
The album is essentially great 80s Indie Rock and Miller's vocal is incredibly close to Michael Stipe, but the material is more in line with mid period R.E.M., not as pensive, but certainly more Guitar led. It is when those solos come in, particularly the Psych Pop ones that the album truly hits the heights.
Vanish is a fantastic opener, very The Church like and therefore there are large dollops of Psych, wonderfully large dollops. The album is in no way a REMathon, but Executioner's Song is very Athens Georgia, however Finito is very Peter Gabriel.
Senseless is the closest that you get to a mainstream ballad and Amplify Me probably the most mainstream. But for a Psych Pop freak like myself, it is Kick My Tires that is the one. The Guitar playing is paint strppingly splendid. I've played it over and over since I first heard the single.
As if the quality on show were not enough, I am greeted by a cover of Rush's Bravado with added guitar histrionics and a restrained, almost not there drum track that doesn't try to emulate Neil Peart's wonder and if anything makes you concentrate more on the excellence of the song without playing air drums. Significance is an outstanding Rock album at a time when there are few about. Well done Mr Miller!
You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD or as a download.
.......................
No comments:
Post a Comment