Tor Miller’s powerful and distinctive sound is a welcome change in pace from the punch-in-the-face indie anthems that have come to dominate my iPod. “Calling out, calling out for something true” Miller sings, as the backing vocals rise to a tumultuous crescendo, and it’s safe to say that his music is raw, pure and most definitely true. We might live in a supercharged world, where even our food is fast, and Miller himself might be from the city that never sleeps, but there’s a delightful soporific quality to ‘Midnight’.
The hymnal aspects to the track boast of Miller’s wide-ranging musical influences, whilst the simplicity of the piano gives his vibrato vocal centre stage. His voice is wrought with emotion as he sings about the city he was forced to leave in his youth. ‘Midnight’ is a love song to NYC, and, if you’ve ever just stopped and surveyed your surroundings “in the lonely hours of midnight” – streetlights glistening like fireflies, the occasional car whooshing past kicking up a swirl of leaves as it goes – it lingers more than any old love song about a person.
Having worked with Eliot James (Noah & the Whale, TDCC, Bloc Party) to produce an EP titled Headlights, we’re definitely going to be checking out more of Tor Miller’s work. If you’ve got any sense, you will too – you can follow Tor Miller on Twitter, and give him a like on Facebook to stay on top of his projects.
Words by Beth Kirkbride