Luscious country roots group, the Joy Mills Band, returns to Bainbridge Island Museum of Art to perform songs from their brand new release Echolocator.

ABOUT JOY MILLS BAND

Joy Mills on lead vocals and guitar is joined by Tom Parker on bass and vocals, Lucien La Motte on electric guitar and pedal steel, Mike McDermott on drums, and Jack Quick on keys.Echolocator was mixed by Julian Martlew and mastered by Ed Brooks (Resonant Mastering).Echolocator takes a sonic turn from their soulful country and roots sound and into new territory.

The sound is clean and modern, vocals front and center. An eclectic set of influences from long-time band members takes flavors from singer-songwriters like Jenny Lewis and Sharon Van Etten and twangy southern rock classics from Supertramp and The Police. The rhythm section is no-frills straight ahead, and the atmosphere and vibe come from Lucien LaMotte’s versatile lead guitar, Jack Quick’s playful keyboards and Tom Parkers ace harmonies. Still classic and warm, the Joy Mills Band delivers 10 unfaltering songs on Echolocator.

Mills writes lyrics that compel a deeper listen and dynamic melodies that lift and swell, with ace harmonies from long-time partner, Tom Parker. Themes explore changing perspectives in a world overstimulated and bordering on the brink. On “Message of My Love” Mills and Parker sweetly entreat the listener to “Feel it in your arms / feel it in your legs / Vessels of your heart / Enigmatic spark.” Mills searches deeper waters, giving reminders that we are living the story on multiple
levels. Songs with lines that seek and simmer, as in the title-track “Echolocator” “I’m a new person now, a new version somehow / But its the child in me who holds the master key.” Or in the post-apocalyptic “Get Out of Town” where Mills sings, “The stars are still our guide / in this lonely aftermath.”

The band has received accolades from notable sources as The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, Maverick Magazine and Americana UK; toured nationally and in Europe; and shared performances with the likes of The Delines, Todd Snider, Eilen Jewell, Zoe Muth, and the Wood Brothers.

“Call it lilt with an edge.” (Leicester Bangs, UK)

“Seattles liveliest country-flavored act since Neko Case.” (Paul Constant, The Stranger)

“Organic country…both delicate and edgy… For the lo-fi country enthusiast.” (Maverick, UK)

“Mills sings with a simple, unhurried cadence, with earthy tones that softly attune bassist Tom Parker’s subtle harmonies with her own. Trick of the Eye rings with such sounds, rich in lyrical imagery and twangy pedal steel.” (Seattle Weekly)

Check out Joy Mills Band’s music here.