The Miles

the MILES at the Drake Hotel Rating: NNNN

At first, this early show seemed like a write-off. Only a handful of people were there when fresh-faced local trio the Miles took the stage. “Look, I don’t even need a mic to talk to you,� joked guitarist Alex Laurence – and he didn’t. Nevertheless, the Miles put on a fantastic set of theatrical, propulsive post-punk. With some fine-tuning, these kids – who I’ve seen kill packed rooms – could be Toronto’s Franz Ferdinand.

Jordan Bimm - NOW Magazine

"They don't come much tighter or more appealingly frantic than this trio of 17-year-old Toronto lads, who could very well dethrone Tokyo Police Club as the city's hottest high-school-spawned ingenues. They could do with a nudge away from their Franz Ferdinand-esque, post-punk gallop, but the tunes are there and they're already an impossibly disciplined guitar/drums/keyboards attack squad. Cute as hell, too. Lock up your daughters."
-Ben Rayner- Pop Music Critic. - The Toronto Star

THE MILES
One emerging crew of teen(ish) keeners, The Miles (www.myspace.com/themilesthemiles) recently warmed up for Spiral Beach at Tattoo Rock Bar. The pairing wasn’t only appropriate because of demographic similarities; the endearingly awkward Miles are basically like a more tightly wound Spiral Beach with additional focus on emphatic, sucker-punch song structures and jittery pop hooks. The three-piece (spastic guitarist Alex Laurence, bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Jesse Lee Wadon and drummer/vocalist Steven Foster) eschew meandering jams for nervy, percussive to-the-point-ness, resulting in energetic Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet-meets-Futureheads-style songs with lots of potential. Check ‘em out when they play Elvis Monday at the Drake Jan. 14.
Sarah Liss, January 2, 2008
(http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/streetspirit/article/14213) - Eye Weekly

Sometimes you just can feel something about a band, and that something is really hard to explain in a tangible way. But you know -- or at least, you think you know -- that if this band can keep going down the path it’s on, it is destined for bigger and better things. For me, the Miles are one of these bands.

It’s not just because they are all ridiculously young -- although admittedly, it doesn’t hurt. People have always loved to champion a band that’s actually half decent if they also happened to be extremely young. But the Miles would be a great up-and-coming band if they were all ten years older than they are, and I think sometimes people who write about them forget that -- going on and on about them being borderline underage and still being good, rather than just focusing on the good part...
The easy comparison is Franz Ferdinand, because they do have a lot of similarities, but the Miles seem to draw on far more influences and have considerably more variation than Franz Ferdinand ever had or will have. Personal favourite of the night was “Love Triangle” which has all three members performing a triangle every time the chorus hits. Sadly, it’s not on http://www.myspace.com/themilesthemiles, but “Arrest That Girl” and “Not At All” are and both these songs are awesome. Seriously, let’s throw that whole age thing out the window and listen to those two songs and tell me if it really matters if they are 18 or 28.

A further look at their MySpace shows they are about to play shows in Windsor, Guelph and Brantford, which is a good sign that the band’s hard work is paying off. They play this fair town a lot, but personally I suggest checking them out next month on Feb 21 @ the Rancho. But in the meantime you can catch them at the El Mo on Jan 24 and the Kathedral on Feb 2.

(http://www.twowaymonologues.com/live-reviews/thurs-jan-17-at-sneaks-wor-the-miles-plus-more/)

- Two Way Monologues.com

The best description of The Miles came from my friend Lauren, who listed them as one of her nominees for this year's hottest bands poll and said, "Another chapter from the Toronto book of Holy Crap Where Did These Kids Come From?!, The Miles play frantic post-punk in the style of a 50's pop group; that is to say, well-mannered, well-dressed, and oozing with innocent boyish charm. The best band who never played your high school prom."

I can't vouch for their live show (which will change after this weekend; see below for more), and based on the above picture, I'd say that they look like they have some years yet to headline a few proms. Beyond that, though, she pretty much captures The Miles' essence. Their self-titled debut sounds like modern post-punk reinvented by a couple of kids in their garage, as the trio careens through eleven songs in well under half an hour. Every song has got hooks to spare, and for a group that looks like they're barely old enough to drink, they still attack every track with impressive proficiency. The Miles are pretty talented, and if they can keep this up, there's every reason to believe they'll go places.

(http://www.iheartmusic.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/961-I-can-see-for-Miles.html) - i(heart)music.net