Folk music can go one of two ways with me. I either find it totally self indulgent and inanely boring, or it can be something which makes me sit up, take notice, and bust out that dusty guitar in the corner of my room. Thankfully for Shambles Miller, and my ears, his music falls into the latter category.
Shambles Miller (aka Campbell Miller) who describes himself as a "folky music shambler man from Glasgow", recently released his debut EP titled "Shambles Vs The Dragon Wizard". The four track record begins with "Pssst!" which for me is the weakest track on the album. Unfortunately one of my least favourite instruments is used - the harmonica, which just makes me think of smelly homeless men dancing round burning oil drums. Not that I'm suggesting Miller is homeless smelly drunk man, i'm sure he smells great...urrrr I think I'd better move on!
From the weakest track to the strongest track, "Robots" demonstrates a real maturity not only from a song writing perspective but also from the arrangement and tempo used. You can really sense the passion through Millers voice, the Scottish accent seems perfect for pulling at those heart strings. The final two songs "Nothing Unfolding" and "My Best Friend Is An Outsider" suggest a darker side to his work, with the tone becoming bleaker through both the delivery of the vocals as well as the content.
This is an impressive EP which shows plenty of promise, however whether Shambles Miller can crack a saturated Folk scene remains to be seen.
You can buy the EP over at big cartel or check out his myspace or check out his blog.
I only LOOK homeless. As for the drunk/smelly...well...I MIGHT smell of whiskey, take fromt hat what you will...
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