Her voice is a mixture of Macy Gray and Erykah Badu. Her music is somewhat eclectic in itself in that it’s not quite pop, R&B, or jazz but a fusion of all three. Billy Miles has also been described as “something truly unique” byradio industry insiders and critics organization FMQB. However, those accolades and comparisons are not necessarily a good thing in the case of her self-titled debut.
If you were to play the CD on your laptop or PC, an enhanced portion would pop up and a little video montage displays on your screen. There, Miles speaks of the first song she ever wrote at 13 and, as the rest of the CD begins to play, it is unclear as to whether or not her lyrics have matured since then.
It was also at a young age that Miles got her start in the music business as a duo that never quite made it. From there she began to sing at nightclubs in her hometown of Los Angeles. It wasn’t until she teamed up with producers Andre Williams and Jeeves and signed with the hybrid Aezrea/EMI label later on that she got her big break.
The album dropped in late September of last year and offered Miles’ first single “Sunshine.” The mellow tune is quite similar to Macy Gray’s “I Try” but provides less catchy lyrics. From there, at 26-years-old, Miles began opening for R&B crooner Van Hunt, signed to Capitol records.
Still, the album is not all bad. On the last track, the bridge seems to be the best bit of track on the whole album. There clearly is potential with this new-
comer’s music; the problem lies mostly in her tracks and the lyrics. The tracks fail to be as catchy as they should be, the result of various elements from more than one genre of music being mixed together. They are just a simple step above the already recorded rhythms on kiddie keyboards—they lack creativity. Her lyrics tend to be poorly written on some songs and then poorly phrased on others. The two best songs on the CD would be “The 1 U Need” and “Another Taste.” It is in those two tracks where her potential is most clear. With a little more lyrical guidance and possibly some more creative producing, Billy Miles could one day be a hit.
Give this track a second listen: “The 1 U Need.”
Our rating: Two stars (out of five)
