The first striking quality of Early Day Miners is the almostundisputable sense of unpretentious openness conveyed merely in theinstrumentation alone. The warm, inviting melodies are slow moving, butnever fragile or weak, often building to emotional climaxes as a numberof guitar layers each play unique roles, not entirely unlike some ofthe best Bedhead moments. Strings accent a number of crescendingmoments, but overall, a bigger presence would be much more appreciatedthroughout the record. The vocals, however, strike me much differently.Vocals are much more important than most bands realize. If a bandchooses to use vocals, then they need to clearly live and exist withthe amount of delicacy and care given to the other instruments. Two ofmy own biggest issues with vocals in general are painfully exhibited onthis album. First off, I cringe at double-tracked unharmonized vocals.There needs to be a strong reason when there's two singers or twotracks of voices going, and that reason should be harmony. My otherproblem is when vocalists are just too shy, timid, and the volumes justblend so deeply into the music that there's hardly a reason for them tobe there in the first place. For me, the second full-length album fromthis Bloomington-based group would as an excellent instrumental record,as their songwriting and playing talents are complimented by equallyimpressive production skills. My own personal favorite moment being theonly instrumental song, "Summer Wake," a gorgeous interplay betweenstrings, acoustic and electric guitar. In the end, it's the vocalswhich could either use a lot more TLC or just be scrapped.
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