CMT Blog: Archive

Rhett Miller is that rare singer-songwriter who can write lyrics about desperation, frustration, deception, etc., only to have listeners happily bouncing along with his upbeat choruses. In other words, the lyrics don't always seem to match up with the melodies, so that's probably why his new album, Rhett Miller, is holding up to repeated listening. For the last week or so, I've been stuck on "Refusing Temptation," which is about fidelity -- or not, depending on how you interpret his attachment to the girl of his dreams. Is she haunting him? Part of me thinks so, but the other part is too busy singing along to decide for sure.

This summer, Miller is opening shows for the Old 97's -- even though he's in that band, too. He says that Rhett Miller is mostly made up of songs rejected by the Old 97's, not necessarily because they're cheesy but because they don't fit the ragged-but-right sound honed over the last two decades by that band. Miller's own album is rather polished because he hired four producers as his studio band, giving an engaging depth to cool tunes like "Caroline" (about self-destruction) and "I Need to Know Where I Stand" (loneliness and uncertainty). OK, this album is not exactly the feel-good hit of the summer -- or is it? I guess that depends on your definition of happiness, but I can tell you with certainty that it's one of my favorite releases so far this year. Check out this interview with popmatters.com.