Keepin' An Eye On: Lynn Miles

Lynn Miles is a name from my listening past. I recall her early albums in the late ‘90s - Slightly Haunted and Night In A Strange Town as being really strong country-rock outings. I have lost track of her along the way but I was glad to get an email announcing a new album (Fall For Beauty) was just released on True North Records.

Here is the press release:

"Fall For Beauty" is the eighth album from songstress Lynn Miles, just
release on True North Records. There is something to be said for
experience, for taking the time to grow into your own skin. All sturdy
things need time to root firmly into the ground to find their strength.
Lynn Miles is one of Canada's most accomplished singer/songwriters,
oftened compared to the likes of Emmy Lou Harris and Lucinda Williams.
With seven albums to her credit, the winner of multiple Canadian Folk
Music Awards, and a 2003 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Solo Album of the Year, she has certainly found her strength over time.

Through a career that has seen her move from Ottawa to Los Angeles and
back again, with stops in Nashville and Austin, she has always written
music with unbridled feeling and vulnerability. Miles has consistently
been unflinching in putting herself out there. Now with her eighth studio
offering Fall For Beauty the voice of her experience has truly elevated
her songwriting to its richest depth of emotion.

While her melodies undulate between traditional country and folk roots, on
Fall For Beauty, it's her sensitivity to the world around her that pours
itself directly into Miles' music to make it stand out. “Love Doesn't
Hurt” was written as an emotional plea for people in abusive
relationships. “I wrote this song after watching Oprah do a show about
domestic violence. She kept repeating "love doesn't hurt", and even though
I've written plenty of songs about how emotionally painful love can be, I
wanted to put this crucial idea right up there beside my other songs, for
balance, and clarity.” says Miles. “I've been playing the song live and
have been approached by several people who work at women's shelters who
tell me it's a powerful song, and that they want to play it for their
clients. There's no better compliment than that.”

Therein is the powerful secret behind Miles' music - her astute
observations of life, its trials and triumphs, are the hallmark of
sincerity in her music. The gritty honesty of her music never falters –
neither does her unshakeable ability to make even the most melancholy
lyrics sound as if they are brimming with hope and grace. “Little Bird”
infuses her lyrics with an assertive and encouraging voice. “I wrote this
song after reading "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" by Gabor Mate. It's the
best book on addiction and articulates the need for compassion when
dealing with addictions. The song about what I call The X Factor, the
initial source of pain that can cause a person to seek solace in alcohol
and drugs.”

Lynn Miles is a musician in the rarest sense of the word, an unmistakable
talent, an eye for both the subtle and sweet that can only be unearthed
with experience.

http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lynnmilesmusic

For more information and materials contact:
Howard Wuelfing
Howlin' Wuelf Media 215-428-9119
http://howlinwuelf.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/howlinwuelf
http://howlinwuelf.blogspot.com/