"Having studied trumpet and piano at DePauw University, singer-songwriter Todd Miller knows his stuff. It's pretty apparent on his debut, too. Even though they were recorded at a makeshift studio ("It's lonely down here playing in my basement," Miller sings in the disc's final track), the songs here are so lush and intricate, they sound like they'd work perfectly in musicals. The opening track, "Old San Juan," has an elegant arrangement and smooth vocals that make it sound a bit like Rufus Wainwright but without the snottiness. "Rest Your Head" is a beautiful ballad that shows off Miller's vocals, and "Civil War Medicine" thrives on a meaty bass riff that makes it the funkiest tune here." — Jeff Niesel, Free Times *** "A total DIY. Miller does EVERYTHING. Plays every instrument, produces, mixes, does the graphic design. Old San Juan- A solid jazz opener rooted in a busy moving bass line and big piano chords. Miller possesses a bright, clear voice. I almost expected to find out this guy was a band director because of his ability to play drums, guitars, horns, sing, write, engineer, etc. What Miller doesn’t do is peform live; or at least he hasn’t in some time, and it appears that performance comes after the recording is out and about. “as they cross my mind” is classy, easy on the ears, and very listenable. It’s a grown-up listen. You know. The kind the kids, the parents, the grand-parents and everyone in between will enjoy. Often DIYs that are created 100% by the artist are sloppy, or have some blaring oversight that the artists’ eyes and ears are incapable of seeing. Miller seems to have really stepped out of himself, looked back, and produced an objective, clean, tight recording. Mixtures of jazz, pop, acoustic, neo-choral/classical, full production, sparse arrangements, guitar focused or piano focused, horns, ripping bass lines are all here. All good. This just seems so easy for Miller; to move from piece to piece and instrument to instrument. Once again, a formal music education (from DePauw University) proves itself valuable to an emerging artist." -Christy Claxton, Stave Magazine *** If you’re looking for something a little different, yet easy on the ears, you might find it here. This is my debut album and you’ll learn as you listen that a genre cannot be easily applied to the CD. My taste swings all over the place from ***** to Kurt Elling to Raul Midón to Psapp to Simon and Garfunkel, not that my music sounds like any of these artists’ music. My vocal style falls somewhere between crooners like Chet Baker or Harry Connick, Jr. and singers like Sting or Damien Rice. I’m a fan of contrast within a song and among tracks, so my voice is underscored by a wide range of styles. Pop, jazz, rock, blues, latin, electronic and even choral-esque songs span the CD. Despite this, I think it kinda comes together somehow. People tell me the vocals are the glue. It’s certainly not the instrumentation or style, so you won’t complain that all the tracks sound the same, I guarantee it. When I decided to make an album, I set out to follow my inspiration and block out conventional wisdom about what sells records. I wrote the songs as they crossed my mind and I hope you like them. -Todd *More song clips here: http://www.myspace.com/toddmillerweb