Album Notes

In 2004 James Miles released his second solo cd, entitled "Seven of Swords." The album is a 9 song collection of dark-melodic acoustic songsmithing. An album filled with songs of wistful feelings and lost love. Good for rainy days and quiet evenings. It includes Miles' cover of Elliott Smith's unreleased gem "Hanging Out with Me." James Miles is a Phoenix, Arizona, based performer and songwriter. His previous album, "Soul to Keep" was named one of Get Out Magazine's top ten local cds of 2003. -------------- Java Monthly, No. 114, May 2004 After logging a couple of years in local pop supergroup The Heartgraves, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Miles has returned to his solo career. Seven of Swords is the follow-up to 2002's Soul to Keep but differs greatly in feel to that effort. Soul was painted with the broad brush strokes of many musical styles--country, pop, jazz, rock--and featured the sound of a full band, even though Miles played nearly all the instruments himself. Swords cuts his music back to the essential elements of voice and guitar and is quite insular in tone as the artist wrestles with his demons. The jauntiest track on the album is a cover of an unreleased Elliott Smith song--a fantastic take on "Hanging Out With Me"--so that should give you an idea of its downbeat nature. That said, Miles is too good a writer to be overshadowed by an acknowledged influence and his songs here, like Smith's, shine unflinchingly light on the dark corners of human emotion and his own psyche. Meanwhile, Miles' beautiful and airy guitar work is the perfect foil to sentiments such as "Hooray, your shipwreck floated in" and "I'm crossing town with my head held down." Somber but far from somnambulant, Seven of Swords is simultaneously serene and severe--a masterful combination. More info is available at www.gotojames.com. --Phillip Black