My day was pleasantly interrupted by a call, a voice note, from Miller Campbell. I grabbed the cans to listen in the office, sensing a moment. I sat on my own by that little table near the lift by the plant.
Hi Paul! This is Miller Campbell. Just wanted to say thank you so much for your review and for the article you wrote. I'm so sorry for the delay in getting back to you on it. We went on a massive tour and ended up tracking the next album. So it's been a crazy month! But thank you so much for all your kind words and for checking out the music. It's really kind of you.
Thank you again, I appreciate it.
This really did happen. A new moment in the short life of this journal of Tennessee Vibes. I picked that title carefully. It mentions no genre. It does not limit me to the music of Tennessee, only the vibe of that place. Now rising stars like Miller are apologising to me! No apols needed. My happy place is home in the Chilterns with the typewriter. I leave the touring to the young. Let's go!
Runaway Arms
I covered Runaway Arms in depth in May and I've been listening ever since. Nothing to add. It's brilliant.
PAUL DETTMANN
Bad
The song Bad is Miller's current highlighted song on her Spotify. It's easy to see why. It's another banger but there isn't the melancholy of Runaway Arms. She's angry this time. Or loud anyway. The guitar intro reminds me of a famous British song that won't quite crystallise in my mind. U2 have a song called Bad but it's not the one I was thinking of. This one certainly has got a Joshua Tree vibe. Or Simple Minds?
This is the sort of slow building banger that gets Miller Campbell badged as the queen of the anthem, and with good reason. She has a dark crisp vocal, slightly haunted, that makes me want to listen at night. This is music for a hot stormy summer afternoon or a deep black moonless winter night in a neon lit city in the rain.
One thing about Miller's recent songs is that they are singles from an upcoming album, which means they are all high on energy. I love them all. I try not to compare tracks or choose favorites. But there is a version of Bad below that showcases Miller's vocal and emotional range. I always like the stripped back versions, as for Meghan Linsey's Humble Again. When an artist has such natural talent, I prefer just the voice with a piano or guitar. The version below brings a different emphasis to these lyrics. And as you know, like Tim Rice or P. G. Wodehouse, Dettmann is a lyrics man before anything else.
Alright
This is the latest song. It is more than alright. Opening with some acoustic guitars, this one is less produced. I won't choose a favorite, no sir. Sometimes I love the quiet ones because they follow the loud ones. An album needs variety, even in this streaming age. Would I get this one on vinyl? Absolutely.
Miller is as lucky in love as all the other artists I write about: not at all. She found her number on a slip in his pocket. She even rang it. Was that wise? She claims to be over it all, but she's not. Not yet. If she was there would be no need to sing of it.
Regrettably, Miller is carrying the ghosts of the relationship. The more she tells us she is alright, the more I realise there is still some healing to be done. Perhaps it is an aspiration, being alright. But she is right about this: he won't ever erase her. She's through the worst of it.
Out Of My Head
I thought this might be Hallelujah when it started off. It's the quietest song of this batch which means it feels sadder and perhaps deeper. She's reflective now. The video is in monochrome. She's walking around a high street that seems neglected and deserted. The shops are shuttered. Is it dawn? Is it late? Or is it just a ruin? She's alone and looking around like she's lost. She's not singing, just walking. She needs a hug. If she had a chance, she would still open the door to him again.
All of those things are true but unfortunately she still carries the memories. She's really missing this guy, can't get some things out of her head. The way that we moved. Those little things. There is another tune below called Little Things that covers similar ground. I thought Miller's anthemic singles such as Bad and Runaway Arms were brilliant. But I enjoyed this more because I did not expect it.
More Miller
Miller has so much more to give. On YouTube there is a tantalising glimpse of a Bangles smasher called Hero Takes A Fall. I love that snippet because it shows that Miller has some unexpected influences. I love it when Gen Z find the songs we heard the first time, and the Bangles are top drawer.
The more you look for Miller's music, the more your opinion grows. Miller Campbell is going places. Take note. You can find all her stuff on her own site. She is on tour in WA and MT right this second, and she is touring in the Netherlands and Germany this fall. Still avoiding London.
