I was ready to have my heart broken and then mended back together all in the same album.
This album came in the form of a cassette: Misty Miller’s music is something that I found only recently in spring of this year, but her ability to write soul-baring, beautiful songs made me an instant fan. There are moments in her songs that take you by surprise and capture your emotions with just the raw impact they have. On her prior release River Songs, there were times when hope and heartbreak coexisted. Needless to say, I had high expectations for Miller’s most recent release Home Recordings and Voodoo Sessions.
I push play and the music begins. Opening track “I Have All I Need” is perhaps the most polished off the album. Misty is joined by her brother, Rufus, and Dimitrios Ntontis. Built upon a rather hypnotic mantra, it has some beautiful harmonies and is a great opener.
For the rest of the album, Misty is on her own.
There is something special when you hear an artist’s work and it has been stripped-back, exposing cracks and imperfections but all of it has been painted onto a glowing canvas. Much of it is built upon guitar and Miller’s voice - and the emotion that I adored from her previous releases remains!
When music is stripped back to the basics, it does not lose its shape and meaning. No, it actually seems to exemplify these aspects.
“Museum” is a great example of this, exhibiting vulnerable, honest lyrics and a reflecting tale of heartbreak. It’s beautiful and there is a contrast present here: the guitar intro fills me with such joy, but when you listen to the lyrics, they’re longing and filled with reminiscence.
Much of the lyrics pull from events in the last year, most notably the pandemic. It affected the music industry as a whole but also impacted people individually and personally. The album description states that these are some of Miller’s rawest recordings and personal songs.
All of this combines to form the cassette in my hand. I really don’t think this album would be the same if it didn’t have the raw sound. Much of the album is built upon home recordings. And what you hear exhibits pure emotion - doubt, fear, hope, and love all wrapped together. Not in cacophony but in unity.
And it is beautiful.
On the second side, “Time” was one of those songs that just grab you even from the very first listen. It’s lovely, even as the lyrics are devoted to the end of a relationship, one that is slowly slipping away yet there is still hope and longing present. The guitar here is beautiful and there are so many emotions in such a small space.
And that is, perhaps, what stands out most about this collection of home recordings. Misty Miller can pack so much emotion into a song. The lyrics especially at times are so honest and vulnerable that you feel like you are overhearing a secret that has been hidden away, and you are currently trespassing. But the fact that Miller has decided to be so vulnerable in her music, it adds to the beauty of the listening experience. And it comes out in her voice, strengthening the wonder of this album.
It is the power of music: in a setting like this, it simply shines through and leaves nothing to hide in an exhibition that only Misty Miller could have created. Let her music break your heart and mend it back together, like it did mine.
You can purchase the cassette here - it is super limited in quantity but a beautiful collection of music!
Album Cover Artwork
Side A/Side B
Credits
Track-list