Miles East - All Hands On Deck (ECR Music Group)

My first encounter with Miles East told me a lot about the man and his music. “Lucky To Be Here Tonight” was one of those songs that restores your faith in the singer-songwriter’s art, should you believe it was an art that was being lost. Because the nature of my job means that I am forever looking under stones and shining light into dark corners of the grassroots music scene, I know that there are still plenty of troubadours keeping the art alive…people like Miles East. Still, I can imagine how it must seem to someone who is only faced with more mainstream music and radio playlists.

This time out, his song has a darker, more rock-leaning groove but never uses the presence of that more robust vibe as an excuse to ignore the finer points, the aspects and elements that make this song another beacon of musical light in a sea of underwhelming and unremarkable music.

Aspects such as the ebb and flow of chiming and charming guitars, shimmering riffs and coiling hooks; poetic lyrical metaphors and sing-along sentiments; and gentle accessibility blended with a tasteful delivery. There is also something about how the song rises and falls on the sonic swells that echoes the nautical imagery, which again underlines just what a scintillating and singular songwriter Miles East is.

If you thought that the golden age of the singer-songwriter was a time long past, the marvellous music of Miles East suggests that, in the circular nature of musical timelines, another is perhaps just around the corner.

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