Lifeboat into Mighty

Description

Lifeboat into Mighty, a five-track CD-EP, is the debut effort by the American singer and songwriter Michael Miller, independently released on Steeple Glow Records in 1998. Miller was a part of the Charlie Peacock Group in the mid-80s as guitarist, and played as well on Peacock’s self-titled album released on Island Records in 1986.

Sacramento, California, the former home of the Seventy Sevens and Vector, has proved to be a fertile ground for cutting-edge musicians over the years, and newcomer Michael Miller joins their ranks. Although Miller makes his home in Seal Beach, California now, the memories of growing up in Sacramento certainly play a part in the stories of his songs, and his experience touring for several years with Charlie Peacock (another Sacramento-ite who has moved on) informs his music. Miller is the next wave of artists with roots in Sacramento that make uncommonly good, accessible yet artistically ambitious efforts.

Miller gets a little help from Seventy Seven’s Mike Roe on a rare turn on the bass guitar and Bruce Spencer on the drums. Perhaps due to their participation, Lifeboat into Mighty does bear some resemblance to Mike Roe’s mellower work on albums such as The Boat Ashore, without mimicking it. Miller does all the guitar and most of the mandolin work. Other guest musicians contribute a range of instruments from a Hammond organ, piano, dobro, accordion, tin whistle, to cello. The resulting sound is a pleasantly gentle mix of acoustic-centered folk rock with plentiful surprises, textures and tones. Fans of bands as far ranging as The Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan all the way through Richard Buckner, Lenny Kravitz, Marcy Playground, Dandy Warhols, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and The Vigilantes of Love will find something appealing here. If you had to give this a label you might call it intelligent, poetic, moody, alterna-folk rock with splashes of R&B, jazz and other-worldly atmospheres thrown in to full effect. Lifeboat into Mighty is an appealing work that shows great promise for the future.

Michael Miller’s gifted vocal delivery and song-writing skill are at the center of this debut work. His wispy, expressive voice sounds like a curious cross between a young Bob Dylan and Danny Horrid of Hezze with a splash of Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan’s nasally delivery. To Miller’s credit, he sounds a great deal more pleasant than some of those other singers, although it may take a listen or two to warm up to his distinctive diction. The reward for doing so is well worth it.

On this too short EP, Miller offers five fetching songs of love found, fumbled, and, hopefully, regained. With his gifted heartfelt expression, Miller brings new life into these over-worked themes. Consider his joyful second-person account of preparing for that all-important kiss in «Skybombs and Fireworks», which he does with beautiful style and imagery:

Trenchcoats and trampolines
And her heartswells make you sing
Her skin is perfect like porcelain
And you tell her everything when you kiss her
Stars will explode
Planets collide
Angels will sing hallelujah
Showers of gold sunflower pedals
Listen, you’ll hear hallelujah…

Taken as a whole, the romantic Michael Miller shares a bittersweet story with few cliches, genuinely creative images, and a healthy does of warm fuzzies. Highly recommended if you like wistful stories of broken hearts with hope of future mending woven into a catchy, memorable mix of sing-along-able tunes from the heart. Keep your eye on this guy. [Steven Stuart Baldwin, The Phantom Tollbooth, 1/23/99]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/lifeboat-into-mighty/46597548)

CD-EP tracklist:

01. Mary
02. Lifeboat
03. Your Sweet Face
04. Skybombs and Fireworks
05. I Don’t Want to Leave You