Vinny Miller - 'On The Block' (4AD)
4/5
By: Kevin Molloy
He's an odd chap, Mr Miller. The album-cover has him naked, tarred and feathered, but upon inspection of his website he's actually a fairly ordinary looking bloke in a T-shirt, without much hair on his head (especially on top, bless). The strangest of people always look the least unusual.
Quite so with Vinny Miller. 'The Yes/No Game' kicks off proceedings - our artist seemingly losing the game, sampled live from the radio. Mildly confused, the sample drops straight into the sublimely understated acoustics of first single, 'Breaking Out Of Your Arms'. The song is so delicate and sparse you can hear the CD spinning, and so honestly produced you can hear each breath and every scratch on the guitar.
Following in the same vein is 'Roll Complete', complete with unnervingly, discordantly soulful strings. But just as you unwind, 'Pigpen' jolts you back into your previous confused state. The pulsing chords bear no relation to the pounding rhythms, other than that they sound f**king fantastic together. The song drops in and out of phase with the vocals, which rely upon no words at all, it would seem (although words do exist - they're written on the sleeve) - but more upon primeval rasps and growls. Yet at no point is this anything other than absolutely melodic and compelling.
At this point, Miller basically decides 'to hell with it' and really lets us into the strange world that is his studio. 'Cromagno' is a short 36 seconds of multi-layered vocals. Nothing all that unusual, we hear you say? Well, consider that this sounds like two musically endowed apes having the noisiest sex in the jungle. Later, Miller proves he has no problem with playing upon his name, in 'Millalude', a similarly baffling 40 seconds of melody, which we can only assume was made by gargling water at the back of his throat. The strangest thing, though, is that you really enjoy them.
It's perhaps the fact that Miller is prepared to take the chances that most endears us towards him. At no point is vocal-trickery exercised - if Miller's voice gives way at a note that he wants to reach, he either doesn't reach it and goes flat, or else makes an violently defiant yelping sound. But the chaotic cacophony that ensues is probably the most life-affirming and musically alive that you'll have heard in a long time. 'Hogbreath Busts A Move' could be a huge hit for any number of trendier bands, with a new name and cleaned-up vocals. But it's the quintessentially 'Vinny-factor' that makes the song what it is: truly remarkable and outstanding.
Miller, by merit of the outings on this album, could easily have pursued a profitable bent in the singer/songwriter career; but 'On The Block' is a proof that he intends to stretch beyond those bounds of convention. Already in the possession of a unique sound-spin and outright, fantastic compositions, the boy could easily become one of our generation's greatest innovators. As he staunchly states himself: 'I defy categorisation.' Rockfeedback applaud.
Artists in this article: Vinny Miller
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