Los Angeles rock band evokes their influences but struggles with self-identity on a sophomore album that keeps the pedal to the metal.
Rock outfit American Mile is made up of four young, seasoned studio and touring musicians, all of whom left their hometowns in the Midwest to come to LA to pursue their musical careers. Consisting of Eugene Rice on lead vocals and guitar, Joe Perez lead guitar and vocals, Dezmond Saunders bass and vocals, and Colton Miller drums and vocals, the band released their debut album “The Longest Road” in 2020 under the watchful eye of GRAMMY-nominated producers Bruce Witkin and Keith Nelson to positive reviews. Since then, they have continued to build a reputation as one of the best acts on the live circuit, playing over 200 shows a year, honing their craft while preparing for the release of their sophomore album, entitled “American Dream”.
Citing such household names as Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, and Brothers Osborne among their influences the new album kicks off with the full throttle of ‘Get Out And Fly’, its pounding percussion wrestling with lashings of slide guitar for the spotlight while Rice screams through the chorus “come on, come on, come on, let’s get started”. Having immediately set their stall out, the second track ‘Photograph Of You’ offers greater commercial leanings without letting up on the gas, which draws comparison to Matchbox 20, whilst ‘Waiting On A Sunday’, with its acoustic guitar intro and soulful vocals, invites similarities to the aforementioned The Black Crowes, and observation that equally applies to ‘Straight From The Heartland’, that appears towards the end of the album.
An album highlight emerges in the form of the title track, where a greater subtlety in the musical structure, along with a more thought-provoking narrative of the current times, and an anthemic chorus, all contribute to making the song worthy of comparison to such luminaries as Tom Petty and John Mellencamp. However, too often the band resorts to well-worn rock music cliches with lyrics that, at best, could be described as tongue-in-cheek, as found on ‘Wiggle For Me’ and ‘Tuff Livin’, and even when daring to change things up with a funky groove on ‘Hard Working People’, the overall sound is just overtly familiar to everyone from Sly and the Family Stone to Living Color. On a positive note, the album does finish strongly as the band tones down their rock leanings for something with a much more country vibe, as ‘Junkies Dream’ delivers some delightful pedal steel, which, rather perversely, considering much that has gone before, leaves you wanting more.
I appreciate that all this may appear a little harsh, but the main issue for American Mile, of which their new album “American Dream” highlights perfectly, is how difficult it is to create your own identity, develop your own sound, and forge your own path within a musical genre that is already so well-trodden and increasingly conjested. And though there is no doubt about the quality of musicianship on show, the end product too often lacks much more than a glimmer of originality. However, having said all that, I fully appreciate that this parody of seventies rock music has a broad fan base, and it would therefore not surprise me in the least if American Mile were headlining arena-size venues in the not-too-distant future.
