All Around the Dinner Table - From the Mouths of Shepherds (Album Review)

The debut album from All Around The Dinner Table has been in the works for quite a while. It was a long four or so years ago when Sound In The Signals streamed "In Lent" from All Around... It was also around that time when I interviewed Brandon Miles (All Around The Dinner Table's brain trust) and during that interview we discussed the album which was already in the works. At that time Miles discussed how the album would have themes of duality. I think the album artwork depicts that right upfront visually. So here I am in 2015 finally giving this album a listen. I was really excited to finally hear and see this project come to fruition. It's been something I've really wanted to hear and I was hoping it would live up to the hype.

There are elements in the album that resemble some great moments from indie rock and emo from the 90s. You can hear some of those elements in the song "Found Me Out". I also hear tons of sounds throughout that would be great for fans of Owen, Pedro The Lion, maybe perhaps even more for fans of David Bazan's solo work, and Iron And Wine. "Hungry Coyote" has this smooth folk influenced guitar riff with vocals that remind me of Matt Pryor when he's in The New Amsterdams mode. This album has some really nice sonic balances. There are some nice stripped down moments like on "Out Of The Fog" where the acoustic guitar creates a nice crisp backdrop allowing Miles' vocals to stand out in a nice way. "If I Would" has this really cool sounding almost grunge rock intro guitar riff that transitions into a riff that instantly reminded me of something that I would hear on a classic Foo Fighters albums. It's one of my favorite songs on the album and it's one of the more raucous rockers on the album.

Miles is easily in his element throughout the album and you can tell that these songs were thoughtfully and solidly written. The lyrics pack as much emotional punch as the instruments. The guitar work on this album sounds really good. It's honestly an emotional listen throughout the album as both the music and lyrics can get pretty intense at times and you can tell that Miles has put a lot of heart and faith into this project. Lyrically it has more than a few moments that are thought provoking. Vocally it's insanely solid. One thing that has always made me a fan of All Around The Dinner Table is his vocal approach. He has a lot of melody and strength in his voice and with years of experience in various rock and emo bands you can tell that he's honed his craft and perfected his abilities.

This release wears its hard work on its sleeves. You can tell Miles spent years on this one and it came out really strong. The production is nice and the songwriting sounds like it will stand the test of time. I think I could easily enjoy an album like this in different eras of my life. Bad Apple Records has released some really great releases over the course of its existence and this, to me, is easily at the top of the pyramid. This album is worth your time. Check it out!

Pre-order the album as well as a limited edition picture disc: HERE.