Track of the Week: Daniel Miller “Tomorrow’s Bloodshot Eyes”

The title of this song…something I am sure many of us can relate to.

Daniel Miller is a singer-songwriter with a penchant for centering his music on locales that inspire him: “My goal is to take a region that I love and write songs about that place. My focus isn’t on limiting a record to fit into a specific bin on a store shelf; it’s to tell a story. So, while I’ve been labeled an ‘Alt-Country’ or ‘Americana’ artist, I don’t let that influence whatever project I’m working on at the moment.”

This song, from one of those locale inspired projects, was originally written by Mic Harrison ( of The V-Roys) and Miller received his permission to write the second verse, add a bridge, and re-word the last verse. Taking a song that he had a lot of appreciation and love for and making it his own in somewhat, which he certainly did here. “Tomorrow’s Bloodshot Eyes” comes off of the project ‘East Tennessee” and is what he describes as a “love letter to the region where he was raised”.

Miller’s arrangements tend to dabble a bit in the Broadway side of the river. They are certainly produced with a ‘Nashville roots’ state of mind, but there are no “beers and trucks” in his songs. He delves deeper as he paints introspective stories over the soft cry of a pedal steel. Catchy, but lonesome. A great combination. He sings with a strong, sobering voice. Really wonderful how well his voice fits this sound of the south without being put on like so many other artists who border on a “roots-country” kind of a sound. It is humble, strong and genuine. This is the kind of music that should be dominating the country music airwaves. Good ol’ alt-country with a lot of heart and no fluff.

Check out “Tomorrow’s Bloodshot Eyes” and all the tracks from Miller’s latest “East Tennessee” today…