The Sonograph EP

If you're looking for a piece of music to help usher in the fall weather, allow me to suggest The Sonograph EP by the Early Day Miners. After it's all been said and done, I think I've gotten more mileage out of these 26 minutes over the past few weeks than all other music combined.

Both careful and spontaneous, the EP starts out with the brief waltz Albatross, and leads into the subdued Perish Room. Daniel Burton's vocals are present but far from the centre of the music - in fact I usually can't understand a thing he's saying, and I prefer it that way.

On Bedroom, Houston all of the percussion elements are dropped, leaving a minimal piece consisting of vocals, steel guitar, and small spaces of silence just long enough to give it a ghostly, gospel-like feel.

By the time you reach the end of The Sonograph EP you've navigated more than a few suprises, and really feel like you've travelled somewhere.

In comparision to other efforts by the Early Day Miners things seem to be a little less produced, a bit more direct and back to the basics.

The signature meandering, extended instrumentals are still here however, and this EP serves as an excellent introduction to the rest of their worthy catalouge.