Americana-Rock trio Miles and The Chain Gang recently released the euphoric and infectious new single ‘Charlie’. A punching blend of crunchy guitars, strummed acoustics, upbeat rhythms, grounding bass and thoughtful vocals, the track offers a taste of the bands unique classic-rock-come-indie-americana sound.
We were intrigued what music inspires the band, what they listen to - over to Miles and The Chain Gang to give us 5 of their favourite tunes:
Justin Currie - At Home Inside Me
"Justin Currie is an amazing songwriter. His twitter feeds states 'I write better songs than you' which is slightly arrogant and totally true at the same time. He's great with words, avoids cliches, and usually writes in a way that is pithy and focused. The songs are full of emotion, but not in a saccharine way. He totally understands the 'less is more' thing, and his songs are usually quite short. I admire his writing enormously. This is probably one of my favourite songs in the world. As a creative, it can feel like you harbour the whole world within you sometimes - empathy and imagination are all- encompassing things, and writers and artists feel things very deeply. You see this in the writing of good novelists, poets, playwrights - there is something universal about the way artists take on the world. The song takes in dark things as well as things that are good. 'A fistfight at a wedding, a killing on the stairs. The brilliant spark at the start of love affairs.' So good. It really moves me."
Leonard Cohen - The Future
"Lots of people think Leonard Cohen is depressing but anybody who knows his oeuvre will tell you how funny he was. This song is clever because it pulls off being sinister and amusing at the same time. He's writing from the point of view of a despot at the end of the world. It's chilling, but also funny. 'Take the only tree that's left and stuff it up the hole in your culture.' Another brilliant songwriter - one of the best. This is a clip from one of his last tours. I saw him in Leeds around 2013 and it was a mesmerising gig."
Randy Newman - Political Science
"Another song that is funny and dark. Newman is a stunning songwriter, so eloquent and able to look at life from so many perspectives. I think he is one of the greatest songwriters of the last fifty years. In this song, he takes on the voice of a crazy American megalomaniac who is proposing world war III. But, the voice says, 'we'll save Australia. Don't want to hurt no kangaroo. We'll build an all-American amusement park there. They've got surfing too.' Brilliant! So funny. A master at work. Never saw him live. I had tickets but he cancelled. Nooo! His voice isn't great on this, but it's nice to see him do the song solo and live. "
U2 - I Will Follow
"I love this clip. It was filmed for the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1981. They're all very young, probably about 20 or 21 when this was filmed. They had just released 'Boy', their first album, about five months earlier, and were making a splash. I love their energy - they look and sound great. I just read Bono's autobiography a few months ago. It really moved me. He was a huge inspiration when I was 17. Their music really inspired me - it was so hopeful, so full of energy and vision. You can see how focused they were in this video - they really meant business. Always loved this song, great energy."
Bruce Springsteen - Rosalita
"I love this clip. I think it's from the River tour, filmed in 1980. It's just fantastic - Bruce is young and handsome and full of beans, the band rock, and the audience love it. The girls in the audience keep trying to get hold of Bruce - it's so fun. This song really moves me - it captures something about being young and in love, all that energy and hope. As you get older it's hard to retain that, a bit of cynicism creeps in. But this song really captures the excitement and joy of being young. Somebody in the comments under the video wrote 'This is probably the single greatest rock and roll live performance ever captured on video', and I have to say, that's pretty accurate. Absolute dynamite. I've seen Bruce a few times over the years but I would have loved to have seen him in 1978 or 1980." Watch the video for the new single for the new single 'Charlie' here: