Usually I perk up my ears for anything that comes out on the, what some people consider "out there" label, "Sacred Bones". Wymond Miles has already issued two albums on "Sacred Bones", and I have missed them. I haven't made such a mistake with this third one, "Call By Night". Judging by this one, I obviously have some backtracking homework to do.
That also includes checking out Miles' "day job" band, "The Fresh and Onlys", who it seems dabble in garage/psych stuff, and Wymond Miles is their guitar player. Garage/psych is something that is very commendable in my book, but Wymond's solo sound has very little touching ground with fast paced fuzz sound. That doesn't mean that his guitar playing is missing from this album, and you can hear he knows his way around the instrument. But guitar is not the dominant musical element here. It is Waymond's musical ideas and arrangements that do and they have more in common with what is termed Chamber Pop. In this case though, you should take that term more loosely, Miles seems to be more inclined to something that has to do with Chamber, rather than Pop. It is obvious, as Waymond stated in one interview that he composed this album on a piano rather than on a guitar.
When comparing his music to other artists, so far reviewers have flown around a number of names, from Robert Smith and Robert Wyatt, to Echo & Bunnymen and Scott Walker. To me it seems Miles has the music of all the mentioned artists in his collection, but that he has played the Scott Walker more melodic stuff most often. But Miles is no imitator, he draws upon his musical references wisely, shaping his own, personal sound. And personal seems to be one of the key words here, since the lyrics and the way they are sung give the impression that they were drawn on close personal experiences. The album in general in its feel reminds of another very personal and a bit of the beaten track records, that is on my often listening list: Jeremy Enigk's - The Return of The Frog Queen", from exactly twenty years ago. From the opener "Summer Rains" (which does include a fuzz guitar), to the closer, "Devil's Blue Eyes", you have to keep your ears perked up to catch all the nuances Miles has been able to fit in into his songs, wit nothing jarring out as unnecessary or superficial, making "Call By Night" one of the quiet surprises of this year for me.
