W.D. Miller - Child Of The Kindly South 

After spending his teens and early twenties playing in hardcore, death and sludge metal bands, W.D. Miller shifted to folk and country for his band Los Bastardos Magnificos.  In 2018 he released his debut solo album and has now followed that up with Child Of The Kindly South.  The album features performances from members of Horse Feathers, Magnolia Boulevard and Frigidkitty among others and showcases his stellar songwriting and well-worn vocals that at times bring to mind Blaze Foley.  The album kicks off with “Etude No. 1 in A,” a short instrumental that sounds like something you would have heard during a break on old time country radio, then moves into “Banquet of Stone,” a slow, dark track with a slight old school country waltz beat.  The pace picks up on the midtempo, rock-tinged country track “Go, Go! (or The Songwriters Lament,” about the perils of trying to write hit songs.  With Michelle Miller helping out on vocals, “Carry Your Burden” is a beautiful country ballad (again with a bit of a waltz beat) about family taking care of each other when times are tough.  “Dear John” is a melancholy cut written as a letter to the late John Prine, who was a massive songwriting influence of Miller’s, while standing out from the rest of the album, “Best Revenge” is a catchy, upbeat tune that has a fun little bounce to it.  One of the album highlights is “Fell Apart,” which has some killer, emotional vocals from Maggie Noëlle of Magnolia Boulevard and has all the makings of a classic, old school country heartbreak duet with a touch of a rock edge.  It’s also fleshed out nicely with piano from Logan Hill and some great slide guitar.  “Watch It All Burn” reminds me of Tyler Childers and is a nice ballad about the responsibilities of adulthood and reflecting back on your wild, carefree younger days.  Another high point is the haunting “Shades Are Drawn,” with Miller’s fragile vocals and a gorgeous atmospheric quality thanks to J. Tom Hnatow’s synths.  “One Hell Of A Ride” is a rocking honky tonk song that lightens things up and brings us to the reflective closer “Little Things / CODA,” which is stripped down to just Miller’s voice and acoustic guitar accompanied by J. Tom Hnatow on glockenspiel.  Child Of The Kindly South makes a welcome addition to any true country music playlist.

(Think Like A Key Music / W.D. Miller)