Review: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - S/T
- Apr 24, 2009
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and his debut album have somehow lurked beneath the mainstream radar is the US, though whether that will also happen in the UK is another matter.
The twenty-five year old singer/songwriter from Brooklyn has made a very personal and moving record and the finished product is really impressive; writing music as a means to deal with his heavy drug addiction, the songs show his morbid views on life and death. Each track is moving, self-pitying and thought provoking, occasionally stating that death would be preferable to living, just to hammer it home. The album seems to be a soundtrack to his life; lots of low points, his fears of living and life falling apart after all the wasted years.
Musically and vocally it is very comparable to Bon Iver, Miles' low, rumbling, soulful voice reaches deep to the back drop of folk-rock and will spontaneously and flawlessly form into an scratchy, fuzzy, lo-fi rock similar to The Velvet Underground. His excellent, critically acclaimed single Buriedfed opens the album and is a particular highlight.
Throughout the record he collaborates with Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear in addition to TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone and you can hear their influence on the album. It is, at times a brutally honest reflection of his thoughts and the things he goes through on a day to day basis. Overall it is a great effort from Miles, who looks like he's got a good future ahead of him.
More astoundingly is that since recording his debut album he's completed two more and is looking forward to getting started on another, so we won't have to wait long to hear more from this hugely talented musician. 8/10
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's self-titled debut album will be released through Transgressive Records on 1st June.
