Indminer Records: Press

Darcie has covered two fan favorites from two very different popular male musicians: Ohio, by Neil Young (on the Cinnamon Girl Charity Album, mentioned in my previous post), and Come Pick Me up, originally by Ryan Adams, on 2007’s Dm

As is probably already obvious, I have a soft spot for singers with a flair for romantic realism (and yes, I realize how bizarre those two are together). Now, I haven’t gone through enough heartbreak myself to know from experience what they’re singing about, but that’s where the true gift comes in. It requires a great deal of skill and a certain heart-on-your-sleeve quality to sing about life’s beautiful disasters and inspire in others such vivid imagery as to help them imagine just what it must feel like, whether they themselves have ever felt it or not. As I’ve recently discovered, this is a talent Darcie Miner has in spades. Inspired by her cover of Ohio (mentioned as a standout track on the Neil Young Cover Album, Cinnamon Girl, in my previous post), I immediately went off in search of further songs by the unfamiliar artist. Imagine my surprise when I found she had previously covered another of my favorite songs to wonderful results, one originally written and sung by one of the few men included in my ‘romantic realist’ group of favorites. This song is Ryan Adam’s Come Pick Me Up. However, fantastic covers aside (a skill I commend her for btw, as making someone fall in love with one of their favorite songs all over again is no easy feat), I downloaded both of Darcie’s currently listed itune CD’s, and have no doubt they will be in circulation for a long time to come.

Standout Tracks: A Lot to Lose (from 2006’s The Fragile EP), Trainwreck In Pennsylvania, Come Pick Me Up (from 2007’s Dm)

Best Played: on those wonderfully dreary drives through a drizzling rain, to pump some life back into life

Real Sounds From the Work Place


The following are the Top Five most often listened-to recordings in the FolkWax office this November



1. Various Artists - Great Lost Elektra Singles Volume 1 (Collectors' Choice Music)

2. The Gibson Brothers - Red Letter Day (Sugar Hill) Release: January 24th

3. Darcie Miner - The Fragile E.P. (Indminer Records)

4. Antsy McClain - Time-Sweetened Lies (Trinity Music Productions)

5. Rick Shea & the Losin' End - Bound for Trouble (Tres Pescadores

Darcie Miner and Parallax Project, two great tastes that sounded great together Friday night at their Millennium Music Conference showcase at the Radisson in Camp Hill.


parallaxproject.com
Parallax ProjectThe weather is taking its toll on MMCXI with bands not able to make the trip and fans turning out in smaller numbers for the shows.

It was the few but the mighty who made it to the conference headquarters to hear the atmospheric rock of Hershey's The April Skies and the power-packed performance of Harrisburg's Holis.

But it was the pairing of Miner and Parallax Project that was the most intriguing show of the evening, and they delivered.

Miner is arguably the best female vocalist to ever come out of central PA and P squared is on a very short list of the region's top bands. Put them together and it was more than worth the effort to get to this show.

Miner's voice easily filled the Radisson ballroom backed by the rock solid work of the men of Parallax Project.

The much too short set ended with a snarling cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" that Parallax bassist Michael Giblin said will appear on a breast cancer benefit compilation disc due out this fall.

Barry Fox Of The Patriot-News

DARCIE MINER – THE FRAGILE E.P. (Indminer Records) At the age of 22, Hershey-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Darcie Miner has already experienced a rollercoaster ride in the music business. She was signed to a major record label, Beyond/Universal, which folded before she ever completed her first full album. She has toured with Edwin McCain and has opened for names such as Patty Griffin, Richard Thompson, Jeffrey Gaines, Heart, Darius Rucker and more. She appeared on the MTV program Advance Warning in 2003, and came up short on CBS’s Star Search in that same year. Darcie is still making music; and based on the four studio and three live tracks of her latest recording, The Fragile E.P., she is still exploring, both musically and lyrically. Right off the bat, we hear Darcie exploring on the disc-opening “Fly;” she starts the song with a gentle, Patsy Cline country-like croon, but the tune grows harder and stormier as doubt and jealousy intensify. Also in a country-driven vein is “Anything Anyone Anymore,” an upbeat song of self-realization and lessons learned. “A Lot to Lose” offers a punchier, rocking sound; while “William” is a more somber-toned acceptance of a break-up. The three live tracks, “The Beast,” “Momma” and the contemplation of Heaven “One Big Line to the Top of the Sky,” offer Darcie at her most basic and bare bones; with acoustic guitar, soaring voice and emotional presence. Darcie uses her voice to paint a wide range of ever-changing emotions throughout these songs, ranging between high-soaring intensity and delicate quiescence to shape the moods and textures of each song. On the studio tracks, Darcie’s musical hired guns color the background surrounding her voice, enhancing her impact with a full, lush backdrop. The live tracks, though, illustrate that she is fully capable of painting pictures on her own, as she crafts moods and emotions using her vocal power, frailty and grit. The Fragile E.P. shows us that after weathering ups and downs in her music career thus far, Darcie Miner remains true to her art and passion, and is an artist unafraid to stretch out and explore, both musically and emotionally. The disc gives a wider scope of what this artist is all about, and offers the most revealing view of her musical personality yet. (The CD can be obtained at her shows, or by visiting www.indminer.com or www.myspace.com/darcieminer.)

Darcie Miner The Fragile e.p.

She ain’t a phony and she ain’t a social butterfly so if you want to meet Darcie Miner, you’re left with her songs. As she says on the rollicking, rolling “Anything, Anyone, Anymore”, “I ain’t ever been good at letting people in…” but “[I] wrote enough songs, I’m ready to give…”.

What Miner offers up on The Fragile is a risky (in that it is 4 gorgeously lush studio recordings paired with 3 rather raw live tracks which feature her often ass-kicking stage-stealing vocals) and comprehensive look at the range of her material.

The studio material is easily embraced by anyone seeking vocal painting paired with a solid singer-songwriter spin of touching soulful self-revelation (without sounding teen-age-y and pathetic).

Darcie Miner has the magic touch of finding the universal themes in her navel-gazing and the ability to relate both the intimate and the general in her songs. Hear her scramble from soaring cries to bluesy bombast to hushed confessionals and you’ll know what she’s about.

The 3 live cuts on this EP run right through the dial on your typical fan: low, medium, and high. The high is a timeless rendition of her FM radio ‘hit’ “One Big Line to the Top of the Sky”. A tremendous song… and this is an instant classic version of it. Reason enough all by itself to pick up this CD.

In its totality, The Fragile EP is a stellar example of what a singer-songwriter (with nothing but a magnificent voice, some good songs, and some very supportive friends) can produce on the indie market. The graphics, printing, production and mix are all quality here. The first live track can be a ‘challenge’, but who knows, that may have been the point.

Summed up, this is a great way to meet Darcie Miner. And if you want to get to know her better, her prior releases will tell you everything you need to know. (And if that still isn’t enough- go ahead, see her live. Just don’t expect her to flit about). - CD Review Guy

"I LOVE the Darcie Miner CD, I will play Fly"