My first contact with The Road Miles was when I watched them live, supporting VIC in 2016 (Gazi). I had recognized their ability to create atmosphere and the dynamic presence of front woman Aphrodite, but the anticipation for the appearance of VIC and the war climate for the 2-year celebration since the release of “Riza”, left no room for me to appreciate their music proposal properly. Perhaps I thought that the compositions were quite long and overly progressive, for the southern – gothic type of rock they serve.
“Ballads for the Wasteland”, their second full-length, is what puts things in the right place. We’re dealing with a great work of art!
The psychedelic blues of The Road Miles is dark, poetic and takes place in the desert. Seven tracks of a total length of just about 30 minutes are enough to unfold their bloody stories in the wild West. Atmosphere ok, excellent production, Aphrodite’s vocals are unreal (and theatrical). But “Ballads for the Wasteland” has songs with balls, alternations and pauses even more significant than the main themes / riffs of the compositions. Unbelievable outbursts, solos like the one in “Third Man” that Blues Pills would love to have written and a wonderful narrative flow that closes with the nightmarish instrumental “Wolves”.
Sometimes (which is wrong), I read the beginning of a text / article and then go to the end for the summary. For those who are doing so or in case you did not pay attention to the importance of the above statement, I repeat: A great work of art!
