4 out of 5

Label: Comedy Minus One

Produced by: Matthew Barnhart, Tim Midyett

At this point, I need to accept that Mint Mile is going in a direction that’s perhaps just not for me. The good news for fans is that Roughrider represents the most fleshed out, linear, and consistent version of the tempered Americana Tim Midyett and crew and guests have been honing, turning in some legitimately great tracks.

The identity of the band has always been evolving somewhat, and I suppose that’s why I’ve hung on: the old Silkworm shimmy is baked into the riffs, and Tim’s impassioned singing was/is a call back, even if the lyrics often feel like a purposeful step away from the cynical eye that band often cast towards life, and touring. The ambitious Ambertron definitely confirmed the Songs: Ohia vibes for which MM has been aiming, but the focus wandered; Roughrider finalizes the stylistic m.o. and smooths it out to better encompass the minimalist crooners and rockers alongside the Cracker-esque folk jams, and then seals it in with some of Tim’s best, most pointed lyrics – mostly relationship oriented but truly poetic, and accessible without being cloying.

There is a bit of an open-endedness to some songs – when there’s not a central riff, or prioritized element, be it guitar (as on opener Sunbreaker’s melodious strumming), drums (the propulsive S C ent) or cello (pristine, gentle closer I Hope It’s Different) – and that feels further under-served by a soft production / mixing approach, where all the music is just cushioning itself, laid back: a horn line that should feel like a surprise element feels like an afterthought, or keyboard embellishments are hardly discernible.

In a way, though, this is the Mint Mile “sound” that I maybe can’t get on board with – a sleepiness to the approach when I can hear what I feel is a greater song, just beneath the surface. But Roughrider is also the first album where this feels like a feature and not a bug, and thus the Mint Mile release I’ve had lingering in my thoughts, the confidence in its construction making it pleasant to return to, and further figure out what I might be missing.