Early Day Miners: Offshore

Bloomington’s best are at it again. The collective known as Early Day Miners has continued to grow and evolve over the last six years into something that is truly unique. Their newest venture, Offshore, is one of the most fascinating and pleasant musical experiences I’ve had this year.

The record starts and finishes as a solid piece of music broken up into six tracks that blend and beg repeated listenings. I obliged. Offshore is a snake biting its tail; there is no obvious beginning or end.

Though both calming and fueled with an energy that threatens to deafen the listener, Offshore can only be described as epic. The drums lead the music in an almost tribal-esque relentlessness that blends with the droning guitars, which are sometimes played, sometimes left to feedback in a continuous give-and-take with the other instrumentation. The vocals are slight, delicate, and sparse, only occurring on a few tracks and the two main vocal tracks are provided by guest vocalists, one of which is Black Mountain’s Amber Webber.

- Chris Smith
Early Day Miners (Secretly Canadian)