Asheville, NC musician Colin Miller plays in MJ Lenderman‘s live backing band The Wind and has also contributed to his studio records, including last year’s highly-acclaimed Manning Fireworks, and now Colin announced his own new album, Losin’, which features Lenderman on drums and guitar, as well as Wednesday/The Wind members Ethan Baechtold (bass, keys, aux percussion) and Xandy Chelmis (pedal steel). It was recorded with producer Alex Farrar at Drop of Sun Studios, the same producer/studio combo as all the recent MJ Lenderman and Wednesday albums, and the album was inspired by the death of Gary King, who owned the Haw Creek property where Colin and members of Wednesday lived for years and which became a hub for the music community that they were all part of. (Colin’s 2023 debut album was also titled Haw Creek.) A press release reads:
His house and studio was owned by Gary King, who Miller describes as a father figure to him throughout his adolescence and early adult life. He rented Gary’s house for thirteen years and took after the property, mowing the untended tobacco fields and creating music while Gary grew old next door and the abandoned cars he collected for years sunk into the woods behind his house. As his health began to decline, Miller adopted a caretaker role which meant going to the main house where Gary lived to give him haircuts, watch NASCAR races, bring groceries, and supervise him as he insisted on smoking cigarettes close to his oxygen tank. On July 8th of 2022, Gary passed away, and Miller felt the loss of what Gary had provided: a support net, a lighthouse, and always just a call away as he navigated early adulthood relationships and fears.
Miller stayed in the house for two years after Gary passed away, still mowing the yard on the hand-me-down mower, grilling with friends on the front porch, and writing these songs. He knew it would eventually sell but dreamed of buying the land to save it, but he knew this place was fleeting. In the spring of 2024, the property was sold, likely to be torn down for development. Colin relocated and tried to move on.
Losin’ is the story of grief’s impact on the psyche.
The first single is “Cadillac,” a shaggy alt-country song with some of the same type of observational, referential lyricism that Lenderman’s become known for (“NASCAR crash on the big screen / Shirtless in the July heat”) and some tasty pedal steel that any Wednesday/Wind fans will find to be very familiar. Check out the song and its Matthew Reed-directed video below. The album comes out April 25 via Mtn Laurel Recording Co (pre-order).
Colin also opens a few of MJ Lenderman’s upcoming tour dates, and those are listed below.
Tracklist:
1. Birdhouse
2. Porchlight
3. Cadillac
4. 4 Wheeler
5. Hasbeen
6. I Need a Friend
7. Lost Again
8. Little Devil
9. Thunder Road
Colin Miller — 2025 Tour Dates
Sat. Jun. 14 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre %
Sun. Jun. 15 – St Louis, MO @ The Factory %
Mon. Jun. 16 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman %
Wed. Jun. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed %
% with MJ Lenderman