Silver Lining. What does this mean for singer/rapper/songwriter Jake Miller? The very definition of the term is "to emphasize the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface; even the worst events or situations have some positive aspect." This perfectly describes the sounds and words heard on Miller's 5th studio album. What seems to be his most personal album yet, we listen to a story of heartbreak, making it through thick and thin, the good and the bad, and what has yet to come when it comes to the adventure (and sometimes misadventures) of life, love, and relationships.
At the age of 25, and starting his career back when he was posting videos online as a high schooler, the growth in his work is shown clearly on Silver Lining, even if it means finding out someone broke the heart of this heartthrob, making your heart break for him, as heard on the heartwrenching song Permanent (amiright, ladies?). If you want a summary of what to expect before diving head first into SL, I can tell you that it's heavily influenced by sounds like Michael Jackson with a hint of LANY and a dash of Jon Bellion, found in songs like Think About Us, Vibrations, Love Again, the callout on fake girls in Hollywood entitled The Girl That's Underneath, and Drinkin About You. I've personally been a fan of Miller's work for awhile now, and it's always inspiring to see how an artist grows over the years, working and perfecting their craft in the process. With a great response already over social media, fans of Miller's will not be disappointed with the new route he's taken on this album. Because of how personal Miller gets through his music alone, it's an awesome take to hear a voicemail from his parents before the album comes to an end, revealing some pretty amazing life advice from his father, entitled Headlights. The voicemail goes like this:
"Don't stress about what you can't control. You know everything is going to work itself out, okay? It always does. Imagine if you were driving, from one end of the country to the other, and sometimes the drive is easy, and sometimes you're driving in the pitch black, and you can't see in front of you; but you got the headlights, and that lights up about 100 feet, and you focus on that 100 feet, and you get through it, and then the headlights focus on another 100 feet, and you keep going, and you trust yourself, and you're going to get to the other end of the country. Good stuff happens to good people. Just gotta be yourself and don't ever change for anyone, keep busting your ass, okay? I'm proud of you, kid.... and also, remember what Bob Dylan says; you gotta keep swimming or else you'll sink like a stone."
Long story short, take some time out of your day and give this a listen. Starting off with the upbeat LANY/California pop style song, Think About Us, and ending in the awe-inspiring lyrical synthetic sounds of Be Alright, it's the type of music to get you going through your day, and you may find yourself listening to it on repeat...for the next week or so.
photo by @crowbrennan
Miller is set to go on tour soon, entitled after one of the songs of this album called Hit and Run. You can see the tour dates below, snag a ticket if you want, or if you really want to, see if VIP packages are still available. Catch him when he comes to a city near you!
Promo Poster for Jake Miller's upcoming tour, starting in April - taken from twitter
photo by @crowbrennan
all photo credit used in this article goes to @crowbrennan. be sure to keep up with @jakemiller on all social media platforms.