Okay, they’re not Scottish. They’re from North London, actually, so don’t be surprised if you find them here, because they really deserve it. The Miracle Mile are perfectly comfortable with the songwriting tradition, whose masters have been Prefab Sprout, Crowded House, The Blue Nile. These are "the ingredients" that you can find in the music of the Miracle Mile and in their three albums so far. Founded by Trevor Jones and Steve Davis, the band released its first cd (‘Bluer Skies Than This’) in 1991 and - to quote the official web site - it took the critics by storms, with such gems as ‘Bluer Skies’ - so unmistakably reminding of Deacon Blue of old - and ‘Whiskey Kisses’, which already showed Jones’ talent and craftmanship. Not only were the tracks so carefully written and arranged, but they were so full of pure melody to make you want to sing or hum them after the first listening. Unfortunately (star-crossed destiny), instead of giving them some deserved success, this wasn’t but the beginning of the Miracle’s Mile hunt for a good deal and a proper distribution. If this didn’t happen back in 1991, it was even stranger that it didn’t come true in 1997, when ‘Bicycle Thieves’ - a tribute to Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Ladri di biciclette’ - was released, after a six-year wait. By that time, the line up had been extended to Les Nemes on bass and Phil Smith on sax and keyboards (both of Haircut 100 fame), as well as to Mark Hornby and Trevor Smith.Not many albums deserve the epithet of ‘masterpiece’, but ‘Bicycle Thieves’ did. ‘Meticulously orchestrated, careful and complex, this is canny songwriting leavened by bona fide humanity." This is what Q wrote, giving the album four shiny stars. According to VOX, "The Miracle Mile have a touch of real genius about them. The most luscious refrains heard on a pop record since Aztec Camera’s ‘Deep and Wide and Tall’". Together with some previously released tracks, the new album featured new songs that could leave you breathless, ‘Walking John Wayne’ in primis. While the song - together with ‘What Became of Monty’ - was having good ariplaying on some big British radio stations, the record didn’t sell as well as it should, despite the unquestionable quality of all the tracks. As it often happens, great bands take home a lot of compliments and not even a pound. Nothing changed by the time ‘Candids’ was released, surprisingly in 1997 too. It was another collection of great pop-soul songs, even radio-friendlier and catchier than ever (‘Wheels of the World’ and ‘Kissing Ronnie Spector’ above all’). However, the record’s ending was emblematically left to ‘Small Ad’, whose only lines - Baby’s shoes / Never used - are maybe a sign of where great, underrated pop music is going. What would happen if the Miracle Mile were a great pop band, rather than a great (very) indie pop band?

Max Malagnino