Glowing Mouth

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
New York was wearing on Kyle Wilson, lead singer & songwriter for the Brooklyn-based quintet Milagres. So he took off, away from the city and his band and his issues. all the way to the coldest, most remote part of British Columbia where he could get some space and breathe. As so often happens in life, he got a little more space than he bargained for during a rock climbing trip he fell and ended up spending months bedridden with a back injury. Before he left New York, Wilson had thought he might leave the band behind entirely. But during the long days of his recovery he found himself writing songs again, and he realized he wanted to go back. Upon his * to NYC, Wilson drafted Fraser McCulloch (bass, backing vocals, keys) into his new vision of Milagres, sharing with him the arrangements that he dreamt of while recovering from his injury. These demos were then refined with the addition of Eric Schwortz (guitar, backing vocals, percussion), Chris Brazee (piano/keys) and Steven Leventhal (drums, percussion), evolving into what would become the new group's first LP, Glowing Mouth. The musical scope of the album is big and due to the piano-based melodies and soaring falsettos, early press has compared the band to artists as diverse as Grizzly Bear and Prince, demonstrating the wide breadth of Milagres material. The first single, ''Glowing Mouth'', is a slow-burner made for dancing close on a hot summer night, whereas ''Here To Stay'' has a keyboard hook that won't let you sleep. Kyle Wilson has a knack for writing dreamy story songs that also pack a punch in both chorus and melody. Songs like ''Gentle Beast'' and ''Gone'' suck you in and then haunt you for days afterwards. Glowing Mouth is an album that stays with you.

REVIEW
A debut that’s easy to lose oneself in, Glowing Mouth seems to be an under-the-radar miracle: a fully formed, wholly enjoyable collection that sounds more like a matured fourth effort than an initial attempt at a long-player, such is its instant familiarity. But, of course, first impressions rarely paint a complete picture, and repeat plays reveal that New York five-piece Milagres are, albeit probably accidentally, masterful mimics, their material stirring thoughts of a host of preceding indie-acts-with-big-ideas. Across these 11 tracks are echoes of Coldplay, Grizzly Bear, British Sea Power and more.

But these apparent parallels don’t detract from what is a very pleasurable experience. Glowing Mouth doesn’t ape any of its makers’ influences shamelessly; instead, motifs that might have been heard before are deeply embedded into core compositions of more singular design, shadows of predecessors dancing atop landscapes that are Milagres’ alone. And it’s a record that doesn’t lack confidence: everything is pushed to 11 when maximum impact is necessary, while withdrawals into introspection are handled with accomplished poise. Self-produced, with the band’s bassist Fraser McCulloch at the controls, it’s a remarkable achievement of clarity above cacophony, where boisterous passages are woven into a whole that redefines understatement as something dripping with invigorating grandeur.

Kyle Wilson’s vocals are a focal point throughout, but he’s never showy. His contributions are neatly balanced so that the music rises and falls around his words rather than rest beneath it, as can happen with projects where an individual writes all the songs (as Wilson does here). Favourite cuts are dependent on mood: Here to Stay finds a midpoint between the drama of British Sea Power and the bucolic charms of Grizzly Bear, its upbeat tone and Chris Martin-like vocals suggesting a radio hit in waiting; Moon on the Sea’s Gate is considerably darker though, recalling under-appreciated Australian combo Devastations, whose 2007 LP Yes, U is (to this writer’s ears) a disquieting classic of its kind.

The title-track’s got a little funk in its step, Lost in the Dark skips along like a Doves track dropped behind the mixing desk during the Manchester band’s The Last Broadcast sessions, and To Be Imagined borrows a feeling from acclaimed Danes Efterklang. So there’s variety enough here to ensure attentions don’t wander, and while originality might be at a premium in places Glowing Mouth is a polished, well-arranged album that could find a happy home in countless collections.

--Mike Diver

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Number of Discs: 1

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