Fans of the songwriting of Rob I. Miller (Blues Lawyer) will want to lean for this one. He’s got a new band! And they’ve just dropped their opening statement: a fuzz soaked ripper of an EP with the expectation-raising title Vol. I. That implies A) more to come, and B) this already delivers.

Its M.O.? Lo-fi alt rock that sounds like Miller demoing songs in his basement with J. Mascis and Tony Molina hanging around. It’s loud and melodic, all about the glory of the guitar and the sweetness of a properly dialed-in pop hook.

The backstory lines up with the sound. After a cross-country move to Pennsylvania, Miller set out to build something new from scratch, using music to reconnect with people and with himself. He linked up with drummer Kevin Hudson over a shared love of Guided by Voices, then expanded the lineup with guitarist Zach Baransky and bassist Derrek. What started as basement sessions grew into a full band operating out of a rehearsal and recording space inside an old opera house. You can hear that DIY arc in these songs, scrappy, immediate, and focused on feel over polish. It’s lo-fi, and it’s warm.

Vol. I (available on Vacant Stare Records) plays like a proof of concept that already feels fully realized: fuzzy, hooky, and just rough enough to keep it honest. If this is the starting point, more to come sounds like very good news.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp