JO MILLER-GAMBLE “Free” (OSR)




This album is great. It’s also difficult. Jo Miller-Gamble is dorky and guileless. I wish the vocals were clearer so I could understand the words better. On first listen I didn’t like it, and I thought to myself, “Well, maybe it was made by a bold and silly teenager.  Since I don’t want to say anything mean, I’ll put it aside for now.” Then I played it again, and I started warming up to what I found repellant at first. I noticed the somber beauty of “Scent of Life,” and I realized that I had misinterpreted this album. Try listening to “Scent of Life” when you’re feeling relaxed and see for yourself. The songwriting is good. Miller-Gamble is “free” because of his depth. There is a depth to this album that can be appreciated once the superficial confusion has been passed through.

Osr-tapes.bandcamp.com/album/free-osr58

-- Kevin Oliver