After 7 studio albums with both Secretly Canadian and Western Vinyl Records over the last 20+ years,  Early Day Miners has returned with its latest offering titled, Outside Lies Magic (Solid Brass Recordings.) Led by Daniel Burton — the band’s founder, and engineer of albums by Songs: Ohia, Papa M, Okkervil River, and Windsor For The Derby — the band has enlisted various friends to round out their studio and live performances since their formation in Bloomington, IN over 20 years ago.

Early Day Miners’ surroundings have always been reflected in their sound. the band’s early compositions, while in Bloomington, IN, mirrored the slowly unfurling, seemingly inescapable expanse of the Midwest. Now based in New Orleans its sound has yielded a subtle but correlative shift in the band. The Crescent City; its name is not only a reminder of its shape carved out by the river cradling it, but also a perfect allegory of a city forever in flux between the most contrasting aspects of the human condition, from light to dark. 

Within those darker quarters of experience lies the gold that Early Day Miners has labored to unearth with cautious vulnerability over the course of their eight albums. The internalized rumination that has characterized the band up until now has been exchanged for an open embrace of loss and sorrow and, perhaps even more courageously — joy. 

Outside Lies Magic offers an audible lightness. Most notably Dan Burton’s voice, once hushed and at times hesitant, is now full-bodied and sure; his heart, once tenuously carried on his sleeve, is now firmly in his throat. And though this might be the leanest the lineup has been, they are focused and warm, exuding the maximalism of their new home with nuance and a laissez-faire approach. Early Day Miners sound as unhurried as ever but never aimless; Early Day Miners have finally arrived. Outside Lies Magic will be available on limited edition Desert Sand colored or Ultra Clear vinyl LP and digital on March 22nd, 2024. Pre-orders are available HERE.