I recently came across Blake Miller at work, as I was in the middle of a very long, arduous listening session. When you’re previewing about thirty new albums one after another in the space a few short hours, the music has to really stand out to grab attention. I pressed play on Blake Miller, expecting to quickly fast-forward through some sort of lame-o singer/songwriter. Halfway through the first song the hair on my arms was standing on end. By the end, I had tears in my eyes. Miller is only twenty-two years old (way to make me feel super unaccomplished, dude), and his hopeful, earnest lyrics reflect his youth. At the same time, he plays around with so many musical ideas on his latest album, Burn Tape, that you know he has incredible potential. He uses everything from organic whistling and clapping to auto-tune techniques that have recently found their way into Bon Iver’s work. He reminds me of an early Conor Oberst, but maybe a little bit smarter. I’m in love with the song below. It’s perfect for a quiet, introspective kind of day.
April 26, 2009...2:31 pm
Amazing New Artist: Blake Miller
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5 Comments
April 26, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I completely agree. I am a huge Blake Miller fan, and I have to listen to about 50 different albums every week, but there’s something truly special about Blake’s music. It’s genuine and people should really listen to his new record, Burntape. It’s awesome! But even his older stuff is brilliant.
xo yo gurl yolanda
ps. WUSB.FM fo’ lyfe.
April 27, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Doesn’t this guy already know there’s a blake miller in L.A. in moving units?
April 28, 2009 at 9:53 am
This guy is so good.
April 28, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Good stuff! Very forest-y
April 28, 2009 at 9:37 pm
i don’t think his parents anticipated the band “moving units” when they named him 22 years ago. besides, this is way better. thanks for pointing it out!