Miles Nielsen - OHBAHOY (2019)

Miles Nielsen and The Rusted Hearts have released another solid set of tunes. The album, which came out late last year, carries on their tradition of blending diverse influences into smooth, well-written, and well-produced power pop packages. You’ll hear a lot of the late ’80s, LA-based AOR in the tracks from this set. But there’s a freshness that runs throughout the latest offering—probably due to the broader stylistic pallet that the group draws on.

One of the strongest tracks on the album is ‘Ghosts’, which steps far enough away from the stylistic core of the album to bring the Lumineers, Avetts, and Mumford & Sons to mind. It stands out against the backdrop of the album, but it’s a well-done tune that shows the band could easily set-up shop on that terrain if they chose to do so. ‘Old Enough’ is another track that deserves special mention. It straddles the line between ‘Ghost’ and the rest of the album and calls up some of Petty’s best.