Merf Records (label)
08 November 2016 (released)
16 November 2016
The Miller Girl is an album of bluegrass-infused Americana, driven by the string mastery of 16-year-old prodigy Jake Eddy and the deep, laid-back vocals of veteran Steve Hussey.
What began as a small project for Hussey's wedding blossomed into an inspired cross-generational collaboration. The album finds itself firmly in that new niche carved out by bands like Old Crow Medicine Show, Trampled By Turtles and The Avett Brothers where the jangle of bluegrass banjos is strongly embraced while the honk in the voice is left in the dust. The Miller Girl begins lost on the road and finds home in the end in this warm tale.
'Little Shove' is a bouncy get-up-and-go ditty to get you up off your ass and on the road. Eddy's banjo is bright and steadfast. With Hussey whistling you on your way, this is an ideal road trip tune. 'Into the Ether' is a well-crafted minor shuffle that recalls the hits of the Goo Goo Dolls laced with southern colloquialisms. 'Master Your Mind' is a father-to-son lesson over darker chords.
The centerpiece of the album is the single and title track, 'The Miller Girl' in which the protagonist becomes enthralled with the girl from the next hill over and it changes the course of his life. The tune is a catchy, cherubic ode to that first tingle of love underscored by home-spun banjo, mandolin and guitar intertwined. The song is so sweet it'll give you a toothache and a twinkle in your eye.
From there, the future is bright for our young lover as the road starts to set itself out for him. 'A Better Day', 'I Pick You' and 'Sweet' lay out a perfect love story with days wading through wheat fields and nights on the porch with a sweet wind blowing through. The story is Southern optimism at its most earnest.
The collaboration between circuit veteran Steve Hussey and 16-year-old prodigy, Jake Eddy has produced a record that is simultaneously wise and innocent. However, it is young Eddy's mastery of the strings which exudes wisdom and Hussey's reflections on simpler times that underscore the album's innocence, as if they are each reflecting each other's story in their performance. If it's heart-warming tales you're after, this album is overflowing with it.
