RHETT MILLER
''THE TRAVELER''
MAY 12 2015
45:54
1 Wanderlust 03:16
2 Jules 04:05
3 Most In The Summertime 04:40
4 My Little Disaster 04:25
5 Fair Enough 03:39
6 Kiss Me On Fire 02:54
7 Lucky Star 03:23
8 Escape Velocity 03:11
9 Dreams Vs. Waking Life 05:38
10 Wicked Things 03:08
11 Good Night 04:09
12 Reasons To Live 03:20
ABOUT THE ALBUM
"In late January of 2014, I entered Portland, Oregon's legendary Jackpot Studios accompanied by my friends in the band Black Prairie. John, Jon, Jenny, Nate, Chris, Annalisa and I tracked quickly. Almost everything you hear on The Traveler was recorded live on the floor of Jackpot during that beautiful week. The great Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey came in later and helped out with a few overdubs and that was pretty much it.
My favorite thing about music is the friendship it engenders. And the best way to make music is to get some friends together in a room and roll tape. That's how The Traveler came to be. I'm so grateful to Black Prairie for all the fun we had making The Traveler.
Thanks for listening. Please enjoy.”
-Rhett Miller
MORE ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Dan Weiss, spin.com
Rhett Miller is the type of singer / songwriter whom would need no introduction in a just world — but life’s not fair and his string of mini-masterpieces solo (“This Is What I Do,” “Terrible Vision”) and with the Old 97’s (“Time Bomb,” “Barrier Reef,” “Buick City Complex”) have found a sizable cult audience with songs that deserve to make him a household name. His bright-eyed ballads and bleary bar-raisers manage to be cute without nauseating, his stories are never long-winded and his melodies are reliably ebullient. Just last year he managed to make the two-decade-plus sound of the Old 97’s even harder-rocking on Most Messed Up.
And because he never sits still, The Traveler, his fifth solo album (if you don’t count his late-’80s false start Mythologies or live document The Interpreter) is a total about-face; a lovely wedding of indie-folk-pop (thanks to Black Prarie, a backing band that includes none other than Peter Buck of R.E.M. and members of the Decemberists) and Texan country (a fixture of his main outfit that now bubbles up more here than any of his previous, more pop-oriented solo albums). The LP’s textures include lovely violin and organ on three-minute romances like “Lucky Star,” and hyperspeed fiddle’n’plucking on the opening “Wanderlust,” reflecting his zest for layered arrangements when it suits him. Per usual, his conversational-but-tender lyrics never flag either, best encapsulated in couplets like “I tell her I want more / And she says fair enough” (“Fair Enough”) and “She’s a short story I never can tell” (“My Little Disaster”).
On the latter song, he calls the title character a “Sweet little drunkard, too clever by half.” The same description is actually perfect for Miller. Stream The Traveler below, out May 12th via ATO Records, and check out the troubadour’s upcoming tour dates underneath that.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Laurel Greenidge
Texas native Rhett Miller is perhaps best known as the frontman of the Dallas-based alt-country band Old 97's, although he also pursued a critically acclaimed solo career during the 2000s. Formed in 1993, the Old 97's built a devoted following with their blend of country and power pop influences, which won the group a brief stay on the roster of Elektra Records. All four members also pursued side projects, but Miller's solo career captured the most attention, with the literate songwriter training his eye on such subjects as fatherhood, sex, and love.
Technically speaking, Miller launched his own career before the Old 97's even formed. He recorded his first solo album, a series of acoustic folk songs entitled Mythologies, in 1989. Future Old 97's bassist (and solid songwriter in his own right) Murry Hammond produced the album, and the partnership later blossomed into a full-fledged band. While releasing a string of well-received albums with the Old 97's, Miller and Hammond also performed together as the Ranchero Brothers, a two-man acoustic duo that was originally launched as a means of testing new music for the Old 97's in front of a live audience. The Ranchero Brothers developed their own distinct following, although no albums resulted from the project.
Taking time off from the Old 97's, Miller began recording his first major-label solo effort in February 2002, this time with the help of producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion. The Instigator appeared nearly seven months later, followed by a tour with ex-Crowded House frontman Neil Finn in early 2003. Miller then returned to the studio with the Old 97's, squashing worried rumors that he planned to halt the band's career and focus on his solo efforts. He did, however, find time to balance the two projects, and The Believer marked his first solo release for Verve in February 2006.
After returning to the studio with the Old 97's one more time, Miller continued his juggling act by recording another solo album. The self-titled record appeared in 2009 courtesy of his new label, Shout! Factory. His next solo albums, 2010's The Interpreter: Live at Largo and 2012's The Dreamer, were both released by the Maximum Sunshine label. After releasing one of the Old 97's' strongest albums in years with 2014's Most Messed Up, Miller took a new turn in his solo career with 2015's The Traveler, which featured backing from the band Black Prairie (which includes several members of the Decemberists) and a guest appearance from Peter Buck of R.E.M.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
''THE TRAVELER''
MAY 12 2015
45:54
1 Wanderlust 03:16
2 Jules 04:05
3 Most In The Summertime 04:40
4 My Little Disaster 04:25
5 Fair Enough 03:39
6 Kiss Me On Fire 02:54
7 Lucky Star 03:23
8 Escape Velocity 03:11
9 Dreams Vs. Waking Life 05:38
10 Wicked Things 03:08
11 Good Night 04:09
12 Reasons To Live 03:20
ABOUT THE ALBUM
"In late January of 2014, I entered Portland, Oregon's legendary Jackpot Studios accompanied by my friends in the band Black Prairie. John, Jon, Jenny, Nate, Chris, Annalisa and I tracked quickly. Almost everything you hear on The Traveler was recorded live on the floor of Jackpot during that beautiful week. The great Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey came in later and helped out with a few overdubs and that was pretty much it.
My favorite thing about music is the friendship it engenders. And the best way to make music is to get some friends together in a room and roll tape. That's how The Traveler came to be. I'm so grateful to Black Prairie for all the fun we had making The Traveler.
Thanks for listening. Please enjoy.”
-Rhett Miller
MORE ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Dan Weiss, spin.com
Rhett Miller is the type of singer / songwriter whom would need no introduction in a just world — but life’s not fair and his string of mini-masterpieces solo (“This Is What I Do,” “Terrible Vision”) and with the Old 97’s (“Time Bomb,” “Barrier Reef,” “Buick City Complex”) have found a sizable cult audience with songs that deserve to make him a household name. His bright-eyed ballads and bleary bar-raisers manage to be cute without nauseating, his stories are never long-winded and his melodies are reliably ebullient. Just last year he managed to make the two-decade-plus sound of the Old 97’s even harder-rocking on Most Messed Up.
And because he never sits still, The Traveler, his fifth solo album (if you don’t count his late-’80s false start Mythologies or live document The Interpreter) is a total about-face; a lovely wedding of indie-folk-pop (thanks to Black Prarie, a backing band that includes none other than Peter Buck of R.E.M. and members of the Decemberists) and Texan country (a fixture of his main outfit that now bubbles up more here than any of his previous, more pop-oriented solo albums). The LP’s textures include lovely violin and organ on three-minute romances like “Lucky Star,” and hyperspeed fiddle’n’plucking on the opening “Wanderlust,” reflecting his zest for layered arrangements when it suits him. Per usual, his conversational-but-tender lyrics never flag either, best encapsulated in couplets like “I tell her I want more / And she says fair enough” (“Fair Enough”) and “She’s a short story I never can tell” (“My Little Disaster”).
On the latter song, he calls the title character a “Sweet little drunkard, too clever by half.” The same description is actually perfect for Miller. Stream The Traveler below, out May 12th via ATO Records, and check out the troubadour’s upcoming tour dates underneath that.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Laurel Greenidge
Texas native Rhett Miller is perhaps best known as the frontman of the Dallas-based alt-country band Old 97's, although he also pursued a critically acclaimed solo career during the 2000s. Formed in 1993, the Old 97's built a devoted following with their blend of country and power pop influences, which won the group a brief stay on the roster of Elektra Records. All four members also pursued side projects, but Miller's solo career captured the most attention, with the literate songwriter training his eye on such subjects as fatherhood, sex, and love.
Technically speaking, Miller launched his own career before the Old 97's even formed. He recorded his first solo album, a series of acoustic folk songs entitled Mythologies, in 1989. Future Old 97's bassist (and solid songwriter in his own right) Murry Hammond produced the album, and the partnership later blossomed into a full-fledged band. While releasing a string of well-received albums with the Old 97's, Miller and Hammond also performed together as the Ranchero Brothers, a two-man acoustic duo that was originally launched as a means of testing new music for the Old 97's in front of a live audience. The Ranchero Brothers developed their own distinct following, although no albums resulted from the project.
Taking time off from the Old 97's, Miller began recording his first major-label solo effort in February 2002, this time with the help of producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion. The Instigator appeared nearly seven months later, followed by a tour with ex-Crowded House frontman Neil Finn in early 2003. Miller then returned to the studio with the Old 97's, squashing worried rumors that he planned to halt the band's career and focus on his solo efforts. He did, however, find time to balance the two projects, and The Believer marked his first solo release for Verve in February 2006.
After returning to the studio with the Old 97's one more time, Miller continued his juggling act by recording another solo album. The self-titled record appeared in 2009 courtesy of his new label, Shout! Factory. His next solo albums, 2010's The Interpreter: Live at Largo and 2012's The Dreamer, were both released by the Maximum Sunshine label. After releasing one of the Old 97's' strongest albums in years with 2014's Most Messed Up, Miller took a new turn in his solo career with 2015's The Traveler, which featured backing from the band Black Prairie (which includes several members of the Decemberists) and a guest appearance from Peter Buck of R.E.M.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
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