Valorie Miller

[back to index] Valorie Miller,
Folk Star
(Grandmother Alice, 2006)

Valorie Miller, with that unique spelling of her given name, traces her roots to the soil of Appalachia, and what better grounding could a singer-songwriter have?

We hear and read reams about the recording techniques and studio time of the superstars of modern music. Miller shows us that with talent all that technology is just window dressing and media fodder. Apparently she recorded this album in her singlewide trailer, with some tracks sung as she soaked in the bathtub. How relaxed can you get?

But beware, this is far from a garage recording. Without the artist revealing the above, you would swear this was top-end studio material. Although she only gives us nine tracks, she displays her professionalism and very strong ability as writer, player and performer on this CD.

Opening with "Luckiest Angel," she will draw you in with her lovely voice and ensnare you with heartfelt lyrics. She has been compared to Norah Jones and Patsy Cline, but listen to Folk Star and you will hear a girl who is pure Valorie Miller.

Her style is epitomized on a great track called "Wishful Drinkin'." I loved the whole tenor of this song. Given the chance this could be a worldwide hit. It has it all: lyrics, backing and a wonderfully strong but delicate delivery.

She continues this fabulous writing on a perhaps less commercial but image-making "Hummingbird Song." Lyrics like "Preachers are trendy, turn God to candy" and "the answer is nearer, and in the mirror" will give you just a hint at its powerful message.

This nine-track CD actually gives us more to ponder on and enjoy than many double albums. Even the title of "Queen Anne's Lace" gives us pause for thought before plunging into another excellent story song. "One Little Moon" then comes along and we switch our thinking on the genre pigeonhole for Miller. This has the almost Cole Porter feel and it works so well.

This is an album that could travel very well from that trailer to the concert halls of the world.

by Nicky Rossiter
Rambles.NET
28 April 2007 - rembles

Valorie Miller
Folk Star
By David Eduardo
September 25, 2006
Not Rated

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The album title would look good on the tight, ironic T-shirts that hang better on fitter kids than me. And though Valorie Miller is relatively anonymous, most of these nine songs live up to the clever, oxymoronic title.

The Asheville, NC-based Blue Ridge Mountain girl composes sweet tea Southern songs with a street busking ragged-n-ruggedness. She makes a fine first impression with “Luckiest Angel,” a Delta-tinged confession that begs for an Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack sequel. And her sun-dressed swoon hangs on ubiquitous guest guitarist Woody Wood’s slide. Here’s where the album’s theme (accidental or otherwise) of calling attention to less than righteous factions within the male gender begins a subtle emergence. It becomes more evident (and creepy) on “El Espanto (The Scarecrow)” and the tragic and twangy “Wishful Drinkin.”

Miller abandons the ‘lil’ bit country, a lil’ bit folksy’ recipe on “One Little Moon” to delivers a would-be cabaret hit that sounds as good as most people look in candlelight.

For more info see valoriemiller.com - glide magazine

Valorie Miller – One Way Nov./Dec. 2006
Who is Valorie Miller? She hails from Asheville, NC, and has been releasing independent albums for ten years. Folkstar is her fourth album and its quality is such that some major label had better get crackin’ and sign her. Miller’s style is a cross between country, folk, and blues. She dares to sing against a background of acoustic guitar with a few extra touches like piano, trumpet and drinking glasses (as percussion, one supposes). Her voice is delicate, but not overly sweet and has that slight southern twang that makes one think of Lucinda Williams. Her lyrics are possible the best thing about her songs – imaginative, sensitive and a little bit dark. She’s funny on the innuendo-filled “Kitchen Song,” wistful on “Hummingbird Song” and “Queen Anne’s Lace,” and downright hauntingly scary on “El Espanto” (The Scarecrow). You won’t watch the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz the same way after hearing this song. Come on, major labels, get with it and give Valorie Miller the exposure she deserves. - one way

Reviewer: Tamara Turner, CD Baby
At her heart, a singer/songwriter, Valorie Miller's crossover into country folk and blues is only natural and inevitable. She has a magical way of embracing the edge and ache of blues, the twang and warble of honest country without leaving behind the earthy sensitivity of folk writing. Citing influences as diverse as Patsy Cline, Norah Jones and Mazzy Starr, her delivery is both raw but padded and comforting, honest but cleverly coy and her songs walk that very pleasant balance between evocative and calming. Check this lady out.
- c.d. baby

"Pure Carolina, from whisper to wail" - No Depression Magazine