Trey Mills - Athabasca

Wow, I've been listening to a lot of music this week. There's no way to cover all of it but I'll try to post a review or two this week and in the weeks to come because there really is a lot to talk about.The debut by Trey Mills is an incredibly easy album to enjoy. It isn't the type of album that blows your mind or leaves you feeling awestruck by being incredibly prolific. But it doesn't require any time to get used to either. It's simply a beautiful album that has all of the melodies necessary to make you feel warm on a freezing cold day (which seems to be all we get lately!) I find his songs are in the vein of Jackson Browne, Danny Michel or even a little bit of Van Morrison. His vocals are passionately piercing, while he falls comfortably into the singer-songwriter vein, adding a touch of soul to the proceedings as well. Trey has already experienced a lot of success in music, rising to the top of the charts by writing, producing and mixing several top hits by other artists. He now has channeled that experience into crafting some really good songs. The first immediate standout is "Saving Me" which is a romantic song that does not sound as if it were fluffed off in a couple of minutes. On the contrary, it sounds genuine and sincere, and lyrically, it's very introspective and poetic. His voice is also really cool during the title track, which has a real 70's sheen to it, similar to what Josh Rouse has been striving to accomplish as of late. I also enjoy "No Sun, All Rain." I find it impossible to not smile along to the skippy piano sound and Chicago-ish horns that accompany his chirpy vocals. He makes good use of production and instrumentation, but, most importantly, his music will genuinely make you feel good. And sometimes that's more than we can ask for.

Trey Mills will be at Revival in Toronto on December 20th with Zoe Bentley for only $8.

Listen: Saving Me stream
Myspace: Trey Mills
Video: Trey performs "Saving Me" at The Revival in Toronto on youtube.
Purchase: Athabasca in digital or hard copy at several different locations online.