Rhett Miller
The Believer
(Verve Forecast)
If your music collection feels stale and stagnant and it’s time to try something new, this release might be for you. Rhett Miller is an artist whose name has surfaced time and again in interviews and articles but who, until recently, has gone largely unnoticed. The frontman for the Old 97’s has recently released his third solo outing, The Believer, a beautifully bittersweet alt-country album. Fans of The Jayhawks, Blue Rodeo and Matt Mays will feel right at home with this gem of a record. Once you hear tracks such as “Ain’t That Strange” and “Fireflies,” you’re be glad that you took the time to seek out Mr. Miller, ’cause he’ll have made a believer out of you.
—Trevor Savory
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.