Miles Miller – Solid Gold

I am a big fan of Sturgill Simpson, both as an artist and as a producer. Strurgill’s latest production is of his touring drummer, Miles Miller. Miles has a mellow voice that sounds like a Country-fried James Taylor. The arrangements would not have been out of place on a ’70s James Taylor album either. It is soft-rock with a twist of Country. The upbeat tunes have a nice roadhouse vibe. Solid Gold is aptly named – the album is absolutely solid gold.

I recently talked with a friend about the difference between Country music and Americana. My conclusion is that they are pretty similar if you ignore the more pop side of country music. The differences are not so much musical, but other things like:

• Politics – Americana tends to be more liberal and Country music is more conservative
• Venues – Americana thrives in clubs and theaters, whereas Country thrives in arenas, stadiums, and large festivals
• Rural vs. Urban – Americana is not so much urban as it is realistic about rural life, whereas Country music is sentimental and at times dog whistling MAGA values
• Nashville – There seem to be two Nashvilles – the one that churns out hits for Country radio and the one that churns out music for music’s sake; the first is Country music and the second is Americana. A lot of Americana lives outside of Nashville too.
• Songwriting – Americana values singer-songwriters and Country values professional songwriters (often writing by committee)

I could go on and on, but the point here is Miles Miller is in the Americana lane. He wrote all the songs on this album. I tend to be drawn to Americana vs. Country music but don’t draw hard lines. If you like James Taylor and Americana, you will love Miles Miller’s debut Solid Gold.

As part of the press cycle, Miller states:

“Solid Gold is a love story, but about love being around and love leaving. It’s an entire story essentially about wanting to get back to the love you have, realizing you shouldn’t give it away, to love leaving, hitting the road because of it leaving, feeling love on the road, love from home, to realizing you need to keep walking and wish them well. It’s an album about the cycle of a love story that crumbles.”

Miller and Simpson have assembled a great band: Miles Miller on acoustic guitar, drums, and vocals; Laur Joamets (Drivin N Cryin and Sturgill Simpson) on electric guitar; Dave Roe (Nashville session ace) on bass; Mike Rojas on piano (another Nashville session and touring ace); and Mark Howard on acoustic guitar and mandolin. The band beautifully supports Miller’s songwriting. This is an amazing debut from someone I have never heard of. The LP’s hype sticker declares: “MILES MILLER SOLID GOLD – COUNTRY MUSIC’S SECRET WEAPON ARRIVES WITH HIS DEBUT SOLO ALBUM.”